It's True
by Jitterbugie
Summary: UNDETERMINED HIATUS. Sorry everyone, but this is pretty dead to me. Maybe I'll pick it up again sometime // It's true that Mark never got over Maureen. But will a rude awakening courtesy of Mimi bring the whole bohemian family together or tear them apart?
1. Prelude

Yeah, it was true. Joanne dumped Maureen. She said it was because she had enough of her flirtatious personality. I suppose she never really understood that it was just who she was. I did, I understood. I knew she was devoted to me when we were together... at least, thats what I hoped. How could Joanne have done this? How could anyone give up someone as beautiful as Maureen just because of a little bit of jealousy? Of course Joanne is still a member of the family. She and Maureen? It took a while for Mo to get over it, but she managed. They're just friends.

Yeah, it was true. I still loved Maureen. I never got over her, never. For some reason, some indescribable desire still followed me around like a shadow. I never said anything, I would never admit to it that I was still madly, uncontrollably, and desperately in love with her. Now that she was single (from what I knew, at least) I thought there was a chance that maybe, just maybe, I could be with her once again, not take her for granted like the last time. She always blamed herself for our breakup. She was very sweet about it. She cried, "Pookie... I can't love you anymore.". She wanted to love me, she said, but there was this lawyer that just stole her away. All I wanted was for Maureen to be happy, but I still longed to hold her again.

So, here I am. Sitting here holding my camera, thinking about her again. It has been two years since our breakup, yet I still feel no different for her. Every time I see Roger and Mimi holding each other in their arms, I couldn't help but feel so jealous. They reminded me of us, Maureen and Mark, Mark and Maureen. The way Roger longed for Mimi, the way Mimi caressed Roger... now all I had were the memories.

I hesitated to put my camera beside me. I slowly got up off of the cheap, worn out couch and walked over to a drawer where I kept all of my rolls of film. I scanned each one, "Collins and Angel", "Mark's Barmitszvah", "New Years Eve"... aha! "Mark and Maureen". I eagerly took it out of the messy stack and slid it into my projector that had been up since Christmas Eve. A quick title screen appeared, in my usual black-and-white vintage style. "Mark and Maureen. 1988-1989" it flashed. My film began with Maureen and I laughing at her mother and father's 30th wedding anniversary party that, for some reason, I was invited to. Then there was a shot of Maureen giving me the most amazing back massage I had ever received. Then there was a shot of her holding my hands, complaining about how Roger was always making fun of her for calling me at 3AM just to tell me about her lost slipper, imploring me to come over and help her find it. The next scene was of us making out. Oh god, it was too much to handle. I looked away, but I was so hard right now. I missed her mouth. I looked down and blushed, even though I was alone, ashamed of myself. I hugged my knees to my chest, something I did not do regularly, to distract myself from my... excitement. I wanted to turn it off, but I couldn't resist watching more. Next was a scene of me sitting on her stoop, Maureen was stroking my hair and kissing my neck. Good thing the camera showed nothing below the chest. Oh god... I missed her so much.

"Having fun, Mark?" the unexpected voice of Roger called from the other side of the room. I jumped up and turned the projector off as fast as I possibly could. I turned to him, my face probably bright red. "No!" I demanded.

Roger looked down "Oh no?" he laughed, pointing to a place I did not like Roger to notice.

"Shut up!" I said in the same tone. "I thought you were asleep." I tried to distract him.

"Yeah, well, Mimi likes to roll around and hit me in the face in her sleep." he said, opening the cabinet in the "kitchen" to get out a banana. He pointed it at my...well, you know where, and chuckled. "You wanna go take care of that?" he asked, pointing his eyes in the direction of the bathroom. I grimaced at him as he took a bite out of his banana, not taking him up on the offer. "Its not my fault..." I said, more embarrassed that I still loved Maureen than at my erection.

"Not you're fault? Then whose fault is it, Mark?" Roger said, walking towards me. Ugh, this was not helping me at all. "You have to learn to move on! I don't understand you!" he said, patting me on the shoulder, throwing out his banana peel before heading back to his and Mimi's bedroom. I just stood there, not moving an inch.

"Oh, and if you still want to take care of that little problem, you can. I promise I wont listen." He chuckled and left the room. He was right, he didn't understand. I didn't want my hand, I wanted Maureen. Maureen the beautiful, the loving, the sexy, carefree Maureen. I decided to lay down on the couch tonight, staring up at the ceiling thinking about her until my energy died completely. Every night it was the same routine. I would just think and think, sometimes until sunrise with not a wink of sleep. I was getting close to my limit, and I knew I had to do something about it.


	2. The Wakeup Call

"MARRK!" Mimi's voice yelled in my ear to wake me. I screamed and sat up, startled from the unpleasant surprise. "What?!?! Who?!?!" I screamed just as loud as she had. I threw on my glasses and saw her standing there giggling. "Mimi..." I groaned and laid back down, hiding under the blanket. Mimi was still laughing.

"What are you doing? Get up now, mister! Roger and I have plans for you, young man." I didn't like the sound of this. The last time they had "plans" I was sitting in the middle of Battery Park in a speedo. "Plans?" I groaned again, not moving from my comfortable position.

"Yep!" Mimi cheered "It's about Maureen!" Ugh, shit, fuck.

"Maureen?" I said, sitting up involuntarily. She giggled again "Yes, lover boy, Maureen."

"You guys, stay out of it... really, it's not a big deal." I lied.

"Too late for that, mister! We called Maureen, she is expected here in exactly forty-two minutes! We need to get you in tip-top shape for your date!"

"You did _what_?!" I furiously jumped to my feet, grabbing Mimi's shoulders firmly, but not enough to hurt her. The smile was wiped off her face and replaced by a worried frown. "We told her you needed to clear your own air... we were going to practice with you and go out so you two could be alone." She tried to explain, spitting out words as fast as she could. I let go of her and walked a few steps away, holding my head. "I'm not ready for this, Mimi!"

She skipped over to me and put her arm around my shoulder. "Don't worry, you will be." She cheered and dragged me into the bathroom. "Hold on." She commanded, motioning for me to stay where I was before sprinting off. I brushed my teeth while I was waiting, and she soon returned with a bunch of my clothes in her arms. "Here!" she said, throwing them at me, my boxers getting stuck to my glasses. "Mimi!" I yelled, blushing, "Why were you going through my stuff?!" I knew I had nothing to hide, but I was always paranoid about people finding something personal of mine.

"Oh!" she said, holding a pack of condoms over her head, shaking them so they made a little sound. I felt my face turn bright red. I guess I did have something to hide after all. "These, Mark, are expired." she announced, amused. "I'll let you borrow some of ours. Don't worry, we tested them." She winked before heading out. I sighed. "That is one bit of information I did not need to know... hey, what makes you think I'm going to need condoms anyway!" I yelled, still red. All I heard in response was Mimi's muffled laughter. I groaned as I locked myself in the bathroom and got myself to look as nice as I could manage. I wore a nice light-blue sweater with my brown jacket to keep me warm in our still unheated loft.

Once my hair was gelled in spikes in the front, I stared at myself in the mirror. "Hello, Maureen, don't you look like the most beautiful flower on this fine day!" I practiced, as Roger opened the door and intruded. We stared at each other awkwardly before he broke the silence "You honestly think that's going to impress her?" he asked in pity, looking away with an amused smirk. "Oh, come on, Roger, since when do you know how to impress a woman?"

Seeming offended, Roger moved away from the door and waved to Mimi, who was busy organizing the steel table. She looked up, giving us an odd "What the fuck?" look because we were both staring at her. There was a pause. "All right, so I guess this means I have to listen to you?" He simply nodded. I sighed and rolled my eyes exaggeratedly as I sat down at the counter with the two. "Now, Mark, the first thing you must learn is to avoid erections at all costs. No woman wants to see that." Mimi nodded, flashing a grin.

"Why does that always have to be the first topic?" I complained. Okay, so I was a very excited person, but I couldn't help that!

"All you have to do when you feel a little flustered is look down and think of something else. Think of Benny!" She suggested.

"Ugh!" I said in disgust. "If I did that, Mimi, I would be looking down the whole time." I admitted, and she let out a small "Awe!"

"Well, okay, then scratch that." Roger said quickly, "What about flattering her? You need to make her feel pretty!" he mimicked a very, very gay man with the last few words. I looked up at him slowly. "How about you guys teach me how to tell her that I want to grab her and fuck the life out of her before we get into anything else?!" Realizing what I just said, I avoided their glances, but I could feel them both staring at me in shock. Well, it was true.

After some silence, they both burst into laughter that just resulted me in a state of humiliation. "Thanks for the moral support, guys." I mumbled. Mimi's laughter halted, but Roger still found this pretty damn funny. "Um, thats not very Mark of you..." She thought for a moment, "Maybe those are not exactly the best words..."

I looked up at her. "Well, what do you think?" Mimi placed a finger on her bottom lip daintily to show that she was still thinking. "How about this," she pressed her fingers together, "Oh, Maureen, I have waited for you to come back to me for so long. Now that I have you alone, my darling, I am prepared to fuck the life out of you."

"Come on, already!" I scolded. The couple laughed again. "You know what, forget you guys! I'll do this alone!" I said, getting up and facing away from them.

"Okay, we're done. Seriously, now, we'll help you." Roger promised. I reluctantly stepped back to my stool.

"Just tell her how you feel." Mimi implied, comforting me by placing her cold hands on mine. Roger looked jealous. I paused, "But that is how I feel! I can't deny it, Mimi, shes just beautiful, I miss her so much, more than I can describe, and I just want it to be like the good old days." I looked down again, seeing Mimi fold her arms at the corner of my eye.

"Thats perfect." Roger said. "Now we should work on you're conversational skills. Picture this-" what he was saying was halted by a ringing of the phone. I got a long, powerful cramp in the pit of my stomach. I knew it was her. Mimi waved me off to answer the phone, but I sulked in my seat. She did it again, and I shook my head like a stubborn child. She rolled her eyes seriously and stomped to the phone.

"Hello?"... "Oh, hi, Maureen! Just a second, We'll throw down the key." with that, Mimi hung up. I was still shrugged in my seat. "Well? Don't just sit there! Get the key!" Mimi shouted firmly. "The key! Right, the key!" I panicked. I reached into both pockets and pulled it out. Cautiously, I walked over to the fire escape. There she was, smiling up at me and waving. "Hey Marky!" she shouted. Oh God, here came the stomach pains again. My eyes were glued to her as I aimed the key that she caught in mid air. Ah, my Maureen. I watched her run to the door, then snapped back into panic and ran back inside.

"Oh my god, guys I'm so unprepared!" I ran around the room tidying things up, sweat dripping down my cheek. Mimi grabbed my arm to stop me from running to my next mess. "Mark!" she said, tightening her grip as I struggled to get away. "The most important thing for you to do right now is be yourself. Try not to worry, and confess your love!" she smiled and pat me on the shoulder to wish me good luck. She threw on her coat and summoned Roger with a "Come on, honey." They left upon saying goodbye to me and Maureen, who entered right as they left. The door closed too slowly, and Maureen put her black leather coat on the ground carelessly. "Hey, pookie!" she greeted. This was not going to be easy. I could already feel myself wanting to trow up. God, give me strength.


	3. The Confessions

"Hey Maureen." I said, forcing a grin. It had been so long since I'd seen her gorgeous smile. She hadn't smiled since Joanne broke up with her, this was a first. It calmed me down. I took a few steps forward and reached out my hand to stroke her cheek lightly. "Maureen... can I talk to you?" Wait, what was I doing? I froze as I saw my hand on her cheek. I shouldn't be doing this, I shouldn't, I shouldn't. "Sure!" she agreed, leading me to the couch. I was so dizzy that I could barely walk. Was I about to confess myself to her? Oh God...

"What's on your mind?" she asked seriously, but a small content smile was painted on her face. What if she thought I was insane? What if I ruined all chances of us ever being together again? I had my doubts, but deep down I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself unless I just came out and told her. I sighed as she placed her warm hand on my freezing one. Oh, her soft touch... I looked down at my knees and thought of Benny. "Ew..." I mumbled. Amazing! It actually worked!

Maureen just continued to stare at me, but I didn't look up at her, in fear of being stunned yet again. "Look... I don't know if you could figure this out or not, but... I've never really gotten over you." My heart skipped a beat as I dared myself to look up at her for a brief moment. She was still listening. Good. "And, after very little sleep, I've come to realize that..." I halted, gagging on my own words. "I love you. I never stopped loving you, I always have loved you, I long for you, Maureen, I just can't live without you." I let everything slip out at once. I let go of Maureen's hand, feeling mine getting clammy. I was shaking like a leaf, staring down at the ground. I waited impatiently for her answer, so afraid that she would hate me the rest of her life.

There was a long pause "Mark, I have to talk to you, too." Uh-oh. She called me by my actual, formal name. Not a good sign. I could hear my heartbeat, wanting to throw myself on the floor and have a panic attack, but I remained calm. "Look, I've been thinking, and... I remembered how different our relationship was compared to Joanne's..." she paused, I waited. "And I think that you understood me a lot more than she did... but, on the other hand, I think I did love her a little more." That one really hurt me. I was on the brink of tears. I amazed myself at how much I cared. "... But I have had this... impulse, this desire for you again. I don't know what it is, frankly." She was sounding very strange. I had never heard her so serious before in my life. "But..." She said again, stroking my hair. I was dizzy again. I closed my eyes and let out a light moan. "...I think I can learn."

I looked over at her as she ran her finger down my neck, the familiar act of affection she always played that sent chills up my spine. We looked deep into each others eyes, my heart racing so fast that I thought I was going to have a stroke. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. I had my Maureen back, my one and only love. I couldn't be like this with anyone else, only her. I could only open up to her, and now that she was right next to me once again, I could be happy again, or at least I hoped.

Her right arm still resting on my shoulder, she slowly took my glasses off and tossed them gently on the floor. She giggled, which put a confused look on my face. Did I do something wrong? "I forgot how cute you look without glasses." she said, scooting over so that her legs were on my lap and her arms were wrapped around me. Thinking about Benny didn't work this time, but she made no reaction. I hesitantly rested one hand on her waist and brushed the hair out of her face with the other. With that, she firmly placed one hand on my head and with no warning whatsoever, her lips were pressed against mine. I let myself go and rested my legs on the couch and let myself slide down so that I was completely vulnerable to her. We kissed for an unmeasurable amount of time, getting more passionate and almost violent with every passing minute. Somehow, I didn't even notice that my light blue sweater was now crammed up just before my neck. She kicked off her shoes and began sitting me back up so she could reach into her jeans pocket, not taking a break from the kissing while doing so. After I could barely breathe anymore I threw my head back and gasped for air, but she kept the feeling alive by moving closer to me (how that was possible, I do not know) and wiped the sweat off of my forehead carefully.

Unfortunately the moment was killed by the ringing of the phone. "Shit!" Maureen said, not meaning for it to be audible. "Speeeeeeeeaaak" it announced after two rings, and I was graced with the voice of my mother. "Mark? Are you there? It's mom! Stop screening your calls, honey, I know you're there. I have to talk to you! Cindy is pregnant!" I jumped up and answered the phone. "Yeah, hi mom, look I'm kind of busy right now so congratulate her for me okay?" I grumbled quickly, pulling my sweater back down. "Yes, don't worry I'll be sure to use protection..." I rolled my eyes and made a face to imitate my mother, making Maureen giggle. "Yes okay, mom... bye." I said, throwing the phone down. That was mom, always calling me at the _perfect_ time.

I simply stood where I was, trying to fix myself up. The mood had passed, to my discontent, and silence filled the room. I tried to avoid her glance, wanting her to tell me what she wanted rather than leaving it up to me. Maureen got up and stretched. She cautiously stepped over to me which slowly but surely sent my heart racing again. "I don't want to leave..." she said softly, facing away from me, grabbing my hands, and wrapping them around my waist so that I was holding her. "Theres just one thing I don't understand..." I began, not in the mood for hiding any questions. Maureen nodded slowly, rocking back and forth. Oh no, I was dizzy again. I hesitated to ask, but I let my curiosity slip out while she was in a peaceful mood. "If you are really... fond of me this much, why didn't you just say something? I mean... you _are_ the daring one..." I started to regret what I had asked. It's not that it was an offensive question, but you had to be careful around her. One wrong move and you can set her off. Maybe thats why I liked her so much, my own form of danger.

"It's just..." she began, turning around so that she was facing me, and wrapped her arms around my neck. "I don't know, actually. I guess I didn't think it was a big deal." she tried to hide a smile, "But now that I'm here... I guess I was wrong." and again I found her closing her eyes leaning in toward me. I placed both of my hands behind her head and pulled her in for another make out session. After only a few seconds she violently pulled me to the floor, and I quickly rolled her over so that she was more in control. "Maureen," I moaned through breaths, "I missed you so much." Saying these words only made her more aggressive, and she reached into her pocket again, still practically sucking my face off. I strained my eyes to see that she was taking a condom out. I felt a surge of excitement and I just wanted to be as close to her as possibly could. I violently kissed her back. Her lips were always so full and wet. I would never be able to get enough. To my surprise, I was pushed off of her. I opened my eyes and she was slowly moving away, looking into my longing eyes again. She leaned in and gave me one last soft kiss before grabbing hold of my sweater's collar and dragging me up. I was on my knees, and she was laying in my lap, struggling to open the condom package. I ran my hands through her wavy brown hair that was by now messy and wild. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back and, once again, pulled me in closer, still attempting to open the wrapper. She finally got it open when there was a loud knock on the door.


	4. The Panties and The Choices

"Oh my fucking God!" Maureen mumbled in frustration. I was very annoyed, too. Twice, already, there were distractions. I gently slid Maureen off of me, giving her one last pack on the lips and she quickly put the condom and its wrapper carefully in her pocket. I gave her an "I'm sorry" expression and opened the door. Mimi and Roger stood there. She was shivering, soaking wet and covered in dirt with Roger's arms around her. I looked Mimi up and down while Maureen fixed her hair with one hand and darted over to us.

"Oh my God!" Maureen hugged Mimi comfortingly and walked her over to the couch.

"Is she..." I muttered, panicking, secretly grabbing Maureen's hand and squeezing it tightly in fear and comfort.

"Oh, no! She just tripped on her heel and fell into a snow drift. She hit her head on a block of ice and I couldn't get her up for a few minutes. I had to carry her here... Mark, go get a towel." Roger explained, and I immediately loosened my grip on Maureen's gentle hand, thought of Benny, and cured myself of our exciting, yet not satisfying escapade a few minutes ago. As I dug through the cabinet in the bathroom to find a thick, warm towel, I could here mumbling in the other room. "S-so, how d-d-d-did it g-g-go?" Mimi asked. Poor thing. After grabbing the towel, I decided to quickly get her a change of clothes. I picked out an old pair of jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt. I looked to the right side of the drawer... _do women expect new undies?_ I asked myself, spotting a pair of handcuffs and a few other items hidden under her bra's that disturbed me. I was suddenly afraid of what her and Roger were doing while I was out. "Oh, it went... great." I heard Maureen answer Mimi. I let out a small smile, glad that no one was in the room to see it as I decided to play it safe and just bring her the outer wear.

"Here you go." I said, placing Mimi's new clothes on her lap. She let out a small smile and looked through the small pile. "Uh, Mark? Where's my bra? And my panties?" I blushed. I was so bad with girls, even my friends. I always seemed to mess one thing or another up. I stiffly walked back into her room, and brought her underwear back in a few seconds, placing them gently in her unfolded hands. "Why thank you." Mimi nodded. She stood up, unfolding her shirt, then slowly shifting her glance to Maureen and I. "Please? This is not a strip club. If you want to watch you'll have to pay...except you, Roger." Mimi said firmly, running a hand down Rogers leg. Maureen chuckled and dragged me into my bedroom. As soon as she closed the door, she ran into me and pushed me onto the bed, pecking my forehead softly. "Maureen!" I whisper-shouted, "Not here! Mimi will be done any minute now! If she opens the door-" I was interrupted by her mouth attached to mine once again. I could do nothing but give in. What was I supposed to do? When she wanted it, she wanted it. There was no ifs ands or buts about it.

I pushed her off me, and she looked offended. "I don't understand you Mark." she was still holding her position. God, she turned me on, even when she was mad. No, she turned me on even more than usual. "First you're spilling your heart out to me, and now I'm trying to make love to you and you push me away. What do you want, Mark, tell me what you want!" she demanded loudly, now laying all over me. I hoped Roger and Mimi were not listening in.

"You... but... Mimi told us to leave for a _minute_! She's getting dressed, Maureen, thats all!" I yelled. She hushed me with one finger over my mouth "Shh..." she whispered, running the same finger across my bottom lip, all the way down to my chest. I let my jaw drop just a little bit, and closed my eyes only halfway "Ugh, Maureen..." I sighed in a soft tone. She giggled again. "Why are you so cute?" she asked me, looking up from her fingers back to my eyes... my eyes... my glasses! "Shit, Maureen!" I gasped, before realizing I ruined the moment once again. She gave me a sly smile. "We're not even close yet baby, why are you saying my name like that already?" she twirled her hair as she said so, but right now I didn't find this fun. "Maureen, we left my glasses on the floor! They're going to know! Oh God, the must have a million guesses as to what went on by now!" She found this amusing. "So? Let them know. She said leaning her head on my chest. I rested my hands onto her back and smiled at her, my eyes closed, imagining her just leaning in again to give me what I needed so badly right now- her.

It was at that inconvenient moment when Mimi and Roger opened the door. We stared at them blankly, quickly getting off of each other and sitting down normally on the bed, as if it would convince them that we were behaving like civilized people, when, frankly, we were animals.

"Well, well, well..." Roger said in amusement, my glasses dangling off one finger. "I don't know what we missed in the 40 minutes we were out, but it sure looks like you guys had quite a bit of fun." I was turning red, and Maureen just stared at him. Mimi smiled at me and gave me a wink, which only made me more embarrassed.

"Okay, so we're back together, whats the big deal?" Maureen said. I slowly turned my head towards her, widening my eyes. She quirked a brow at me and smiled. "Fine!" she pouted, springing to her feet, "If we are not welcome here, then Marky shall come to live with me! Come on, pookie." She said, grabbing my arm and forcing me up as if I were her pet (which I was, in a way).

"Hey, hold on a second, Maureen, isn't it a little soon for me to go _live_ with you?" I asked hesitantly. She gave me an evil, demanding glare, and I almost gave in, but I maintained my will to keep control. At least in front of Roger and Mimi, who were still watching us blankly.

Maureen rolled her eyes and sighed dramatically. "All right." She leaned in and gave me a small peck on the lips, then whispered in my ear, "Be over tonight when they're at work." I felt a hard pinch in the pit of my stomach, like my heart dropped a heavy bag of sand in it. Before I could make up an excuse not to go, she smiled and said goodbye to all of us. I knew that I would have to make a major decision; go out, or sleep in. Nervously, I waved once as she left the bedroom. Once we all heard the loud slap of the sliding metal "door", Mimi clapped her hands and hugged me. "Go Mark! Now you're not alone anymore!" I blushed faintly. "Yeah, yeah... right." I muttered, still in deep thought of what Maureen commanded me to do. Roger patted me on the back, and we all ate lunch in silence, in our own places of work. I was fiddling with my projector and a few rolls of film, Roger scribbled song ideas in his messy notebook, strumming a few notes softly every so often, while Mimi sat on the couch perfecting her nails.

It was a long night, and I was just waiting for when Roger left to play in some sleazy bar, and Mimi left to the Catscratch Club. When 9:00 finally came around and the two left at the same time, I laid in my bed, thinking silently. _How am I supposed to just go over there and not have them notice I'm gone when they get back? _I asked myself, examining my glasses absentmindedly.

I sighed and rolled over, pathetic butterflies that I knew were for teenage schoolgirls, not grown men, fluttered inside of me. I was still, if not more ashamed than I was yesterday at this time. _I can't just leave her and not show up, but I can't have Mimi and Roger know that I went!_ The two options battled each other in my mind, making me toss and turn in confusion until I sat up, stomped over to the phone, and dialed her number. "Maureen? Hey..."


	5. The Decision

I took a deep breath, covering the mouth of the phone with my hand so she wouldn't sense my fear and anxiety through my breathing patterns. And believe me- she noticed those things. "Pookie? Are you coming over?" she asked impatiently, but her voice hinted concern at the same time. I didn't know what to say, Why did I even call her? I sat on the cold wooden floor, regretting everything up to now. I should have just gotten over her. But, of course, that was impossible.

After a "Are you still there, baby?" I softly whispered, "I don't know." There was more silence. Awkward, uneasy, sickening silence. "Do you take back what you said?" She blurted out in an unusually worried way. I pounced to my feet again. "No!" I shouted, then blushing immediately when I realized how eagerly I said it. She chuckled slightly. "Why don't you come over? I ordered Chinese food for both of us!" she cheered. As if I wanted food. I wanted her, not free rice. "It's not that I don't want to see you..." I stuttered a little. Why was I stuttering? I never did that before in my life. "It's just that... Mimi and Roger..."

She made an annoyed sigh that sent me worrying. "Why are you so worried about them? They're not going to care if you're gone for... a little while. Come on over already!" and with that, she hung up. Ouch... I stood there with the phone in my hand, thinking, until I heard the "Please hang up, there appears to be a receiver off the hook" message and slowly put the phone back in its place. Deep down, I knew she was right. Deep down, I knew I wanted to be holding her right now.

_No... no, I know I shouldn't_. I tried convincing myself. _I shouldn't be running back to her. Roger was right. I need to stop chasing after... her. _Every other thought was trying to convince me to stay, forget about tonight, and give up her all together. Then my heart came around and told my conscience _No... no... I need to be with her. Maureen... I need to feel her soft lips again..._

It went back and forth like that for the longest five minutes I'd ever experienced. _I need her. If I just stay here I'll never forgive myself. She's so beautiful... I just..._ I slowly sat up, slipping my socks and sneakers on. I was not happy about the decision I made, but I had to go. I was like a slave to her. Every time she called for me I had to follow, as guilty as I may have felt about it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't ever, ever give up the chance to see her.

I walked down to Avenue A, conveniently only one block from mine. I still had her key from when she had given it to me two years ago, so I let myself in the main door, and climbed up to the top floor. I still couldn't believe I gave in.

Her loft and mine looked very similar, only hers was more of a fresh air smell than cheap Lysol, and hers had carpeting. I knocked on her apartment door, even though I had the key to this one too. I just didn't want to feel like I was intruding.

She opened the door with a huge grin on her face. That sweet smile made me look her from her toes back to her eyes, then down to her full, lush lips. She tackled me with a hug, and I gently embraced her back, closing my eyes as I did so. I was such a disaster. Why did I have love her so much?

"I'm so happy you came!" She clapped, pushing me in and closing the door. I sighed, eyebrows crumbled in a worried, longing look that I didn't even notice. I wanted to say something, something that would flatter her, but all I did was lift up one palm towards her and nod with a goofy smirk. I felt so hidden all of a sudden, so... Mark. I was consumed, so empty, so sheltered. My doubtfulness always made me feel so lonely and blank, and I wanted that horrible feeling to go away while I was near her now, more than I ever had before.

She smiled at me mischievously, and I got more uneasy. My conscience was coming back to haunt me. _What is wrong with me? Why am I such a prisoner to this girl?I need to get out, I need to be free, not trapped in this horrible love cycle._ The doubts of my mind crept toward me, even faster than she did, as she tried to lead me to the floor. With every step she took, I took one back. I was almost afraid of her now, but she just took it as a game, and slowly walked toward me. Closer, closer, until I was backed up onto the wall. When I had nowhere else to turn, I felt her still, warm hands holding my cheeks, and she was pressed against me, fiercely attacking my mouth with hers. After a moment of blocking her out, I felt the hot rush of tension run through my veins again, and kissed her back. After a few seconds, though, I came to my senses and pulled away from her. "No." I said my eyes still closed. My disapproving comment went over her head, and she just leaned in again, repeating the process. But I didn't give in this time. "No!" I said a bit more seriously, gently pushing her head away from mine. She looked disappointed and confused. "I... I can't give in." I admitted, trying my best to look away from her. She slowly turned my head to face hers, and looked me directly in the eyes. She was clearly expecting more of an explanation.

"It's not you... I want you, so badly," I confessed, resting a palm on her cheek, stroking her lips with my thumb. She closed her eyes. God, she was so incredibly beautiful. "But..." To my surprise, I couldn't think of any excuses. I knew I had so many, but my mind was drawing a complete blank. I slowly lowered my hand, pitifully down to my side. She slowly opened her eyes to watch mine. I envied her for that skill, she could always figure out exactly what you were thinking by a simple glance.

"Kiss me, Mark Cohen." She pleaded, closing her eyes once again. No longer trying to resist, I grabbed her by the head gently but swiftly, and forced her mouth open, taking a few steps forward, trying to get even the smallest centimeter closer to her. And what could I do about it? Like I said, I was a prisoner to her, her touch put my will in handcuffs, and I had to give into her, weather my morals approved or not.

Before I knew it, we were on the floor. We were kissing so tenderly. I only noticed I was laying on top of her when she, to my confusion, rolled me over. She never wanted to be in control, seeing as how she was, I hated to admit, the one that always wore the pants. She barely got the chance to be fully on the receiving end.

I looked up at her as she pulled away. Her knees pinned me to the floor as she easily opened a brand new condom wrapper. This made me wonder if she carried them with her _all _the time, like it sure seemed like she did.

I tried to sit up as she unbuttoned my jeans and slid them down, but I only managed to hold myself up just a few inches. She pulled down my boxers and I felt just a little uneasy as she neatly protected me. I was forced to kick off the rest of my clothes, and as quickly as I did, we were both completely undressed. A small sweat drop trickled down my forehead, unprepared. She leaned in and kissed me one last time, before she rolled over and let me take control.

Her breathing patterns grew rapidly, as did mine, and she was soon out of control. It felt so strange to be having sex again, after... well, two very long and painful years. I was so afraid that I would mess up somewhere, make her feel uncomfortable or uneasy, like the way I was feeling... partially, at least.

Right before we reached our limits, we hard a loud ding. "Oh fuck! The food!" Maureen gasped through tired breaths as I stopped to look over at the door. "No!" she demanded. One hand painfully forcing my neck down toward her so that I was paying full attention to her. "No more distractions." she ruled, pulling me in for one soft kiss. Before we pulled away, she whispered into my lips, "You're mine." Even at the time when there was no physical way of getting more intimate with her, I was turned on. My adrenaline reached the breaking point, and I expressed my love for her in sheer pleasure. I so desperately didn't want to mess this up, and I felt, now, that I was free to give into her completely, through a few of her "Harder! Faster!" chants, that, I could never tell her, made me feel so much more under pressure. But I loved it.

Once we had fulfilled each other's expectancy's, we just laid there on the floor, recovering. We made no contact anymore, except our locked hands, and a few strands of her hair brushed on my boiling cheek. "Mark?" She asked, as I turned my head over to her, still surprised she called me that. She was not looking at me, until she knew that I was waiting for her to respond. "I love you."


	6. The Lovin' and the Life Cafe

A thousand thank yous to my loyal reviewer, JumpOVERtheMOON. :D

When I woke up in her bed the next morning, it took me awhile to remember where I was, until I rolled over and saw her familiar hair spread out in strands all over her pillow. I sighed, sitting at the edge of the bed with a smile glued to my face. "Morning, Pookie." Maureen called, startling me so badly that I hopped to my feet. "Oh! You're up!" I gasped, clutching my shirtless chest, as she let out a single laugh. "Last night was wonderful." she commented, holding her head up with her right arm and clutching the blanket over her with her left.

I just smiled as she got up slowly, speechless at every move she made. I followed her into the living room and persuaded her use the bathroom before me. Then I noticed her answering machine, flashing a tiny red light."Mind if I check your messages?" I shouted loud enough for her to hear. "I have messages? Sure, go ahead." she responded over running water. I pressed the play button on her cheap old answering machine, and it made a small beep. "You have one new message!" It announced so cheerfully, and I was surprised to hear the voice of Roger. "Maureen... we know you're holding Mark captive there. Just... send him back when you're done! You remember we have to all meet at the Life Cafe later, right? Well, hurry up already!" And I pressed delete, rolling my eyes.

"Who was it?" Maureen asked, walking from the bathroom, somehow magically all dressed and ready for the day in only a few minutes. "Roger. I told you they'd know!" I complained, but I regretted nothing. I slipped my sweater and jeans on (no, I wasn't walking around nude) that were only a few hours ago carelessly thrown off and scattered all over the room. "Leaving already?" she asked in an exaggeratedly sad voice. "I have to. Roger calls... You're going to be at the Life later, right? I'll see you in a few hours." I smiled as she softly kissed me goodbye.

As I headed upstairs back home, I did my best to quietly sneak in. Unfortunately, Roger was somehow standing right at the door, as if he had been waiting there for me. "Oh, hi Roger..." I mumbled, prepared to be questioned.

"Hello..." He smirked as I gently put my scarf and coat on the couch. I knew he was staring at me, but I avoided acknowledging his presence at all. Surprisingly, he hadn't asked me anything until a whole half hour later, when I was silently passing the time by reading an unmarked novel. He sat uncomfortably close to me on the couch and pretended to be interested in what I was reading. I glanced over at him slowly, at which point he returned the glance with a powerful smirk painted on. I shot my head pack to the book and asked, with out looking back at him, "Can I help you?"

"You can't expect to be out all night at Maureen's and not tell me what went on." he said in a "you should have known better" kind of tone. I folded the page and closed the book on a fresh chapter. "Nothing went on," I lied, "we just ate Chinese food and watched a few movies. Thats all, Roger." I was upset that I was drowning myself in lies again, but I didn't want to go on about every detail, which, knowing him, he would eventually force out of me had I told him we actually had sex. There was a long silence as I placed the book on the steel table that was covered in crumbs and a few advertisement posters for one of Roger's gigs at CBGB's. I was still avoiding his glance, moving to the brown bad that I kept my camera in and took it out gently.

"You expect me to believe the 'movie and dinner' excuse? You slept with her, didn't you?" my whole body froze in its place as I hesitantly looked over at his cheesy smile. He laughed in the way you would expect just anyone who just found out an entertaining secret to laugh. "You're too easy, Mark. Was it nice?" he interrogated.

"Roger..." I grumbled, kneeling next to my projector. I was going to tell him to shove his questions up his wherever, but I decided to end it right there. Noticing that I had lied to him, he chuckled.

That's when Mimi walked in. She was wearing a short, red, frilly, silk-looking nightgown with a small Christmas tree in the corner of it. Her hair was thrown all over, and her eyes squinted. Her tired voice made her sound like an abusive smoker, "What's the time?" she struggled to ask loud enough for us to hear. Roger looked at his wrist before noticing he had no watch on "Well... It's got to be close to noon time." he guessed, getting up off the couch to properly greet her with a kiss on the cheek. I looked over at her smiling, noticing she was staring at me while Roger was whispering something in her ear. I raised my brows at her and waved subtly. "Morning, Mimi."

"Afternoon, sex god." she joked, still in her morning-voice, slowly tiptoeing over to the bathroom with a clean set of clothes in her arms. I was so flushed at that point, I took a deep, relaxing breath and focused my attention back to my camera. I slowly spun the film roll back, sitting on the couch instead of the uncomfortable floor. "Hey!" I snapped, remembering our trip to the Life Cafe later. "Is Collins going to be there?" I tried not to get my hopes up. I remembered Collins saying something about getting another teaching gig in a small public high school in Uptown.

"Yep!" Roger cheered, overly excited. "Don't you remember? He called the other day and told you specifically." I nodded and mumbled, "Oh yeah." As much as I loved living with Mimi and Roger, I never forgot the good old days, when it was me, Roger, Collins, Benny... and Maureen. "Still hasn't found anyone new, huh?" Roger asked stupidly. "Roger, did you not observe how much he and Angel loved each other? You don't get over those things..." Then I heard the shower turn on from the bathroom, remembering Mimi, the replacement of April, the poor girl who killed herself because of the AIDS. "Okay, well you do, eventually, but... Collins is much more soulful than you are." I finished carefully, turning the camera on, filming Roger who looked annoyed. "And what do you mean by that?" He asked , pretending to punch my camera lenses, resulting in me protecting it with every inch of my body. Roger just laughed as I smiled and shook my head.

We arranged that Maureen would wait for us outside of our house to walk with us, even though she lived closer to it than we did, and we would be passing by her house to get there. I found it illogical, but Maureen did it her way, no matter how strange it may have been.

"Are we all ready to go?" Mimi asked, pulling her leopard-print coat off of the rack and quickly slipping it on.

"Uh, yeah. Mark?" Roger responded, stepping over to Mimi who was now by the door.

I grabbed my brown bag, put my camera back in it, and nodded as we all headed out the door.

Maureen was sitting boredly on our stoop, sining Over the Moon over and over again softly. As we opened the door, she jumped up and clapped her hands. "Hi Marky!" She said, giving me a quick kiss before greeting Roger and Mimi with hugs.

We walked in pairs down the cold autumn streets. Mimi and Roger mumbled about something I tuned out, while Maureen told me about an off-Broadway play she was auditioning for. I didn't really understand what she was talking about, but hearing her voice was more than enough to keep me smiling the whole way there.

Everyone was waiting for us outside by time we arrived. I went for Collins first, giving him a huge hug. "Hey, Collins!" I cheered. "How's it going, Cohen?" then he went for Roger. I hugged Joanne, and even Benny. Maureen and Joanne were the last ones to greet. They looked at each other awkwardly for a few moments before hugging each other tightly. I lightly smiled, so happy that there was no tension between them.

When we went inside, one waiter gave us a disgusted look as we moved the tables together. We didn't take any menus, all knowing what we wanted already: fries, wine, and beer. Everyone talked amongst themselves. Roger sat at the end next to Mimi, next to Benny, next to Joanne, across from Collins, Maureen and me. Mimi was hanging off of Roger the whole time, even though Benny would occasionally make slight flirtatious contact with her. Joanne and Collins were surprisingly having an intimate conversation about Angel as Maureen and I listened to a story Benny told about his and Alison's divorce.

"You were there, Mark, when Alison found me in Mimi's house." He said, glancing at her up and down as i nodded slowly. "Well, she dragged me out by my ear. She went insane! She threw me in her car and threatened to drive us both off the Brooklyn Bridge if I didn't explain." I widened my eyes, but Maureen just laughed and stroked my leg secretly under the table. It didn't bother me (actually it made me feel a little TOO good), that is, until I noticed Joanne would look over at us every once in awhile. I became uneasy and slowly my thoughts took over my whole attention. _Shit. Did someone tell Joanne about us? I don't like this, Joanne is going to kill me, she's going to kill me..._ I found myself constantly fidgeting in my seat, waiting impatiently to get out of here, even though I had been looking forward to today for a week.

My stomach pained as I finally, out of the corner of my eye, saw Joanne excuse herself from her conversation with Collins, to get up and walk around the tables toward me. Everyone's laughter was halted as she bent her head down to my ear. "Mark, can I have a minute?"


	7. The Angry Lesbian

As Joanne pulled me to the side, my face was burning as if I just came inside from a full day out at the beach with no sunscreen. I used my poor acting skills to pretend that I had no idea what was coming.

"Whats going on with you and Maureen?" she demanded firmly. I could feel myself getting weak. I wish Maureen was here to answer, instead of leaving it up to me. Truthfully, I was afraid of Joanne. She was a lawyer, so she always knew your weaknesses, and I hated confrontation.

"Um," I simply peeped out, glancing over Joanne's shoulder to see that everyone but Collins and Benny, who were mumbling to each other, were staring at us.

"Answer me." she demanded. I wanted to throw up, my stomach was so uneasy and I was getting faint. I wasn't going to lie to her, but I was afraid to tell her strait out what was going on.

"I, uh... You two aren't together anymore. Why do you care?" I wanted to say more, but my throat was clogging up on the words I was saying. I looked over again, to see Maureen was staring daggers at Joanne, and now, everyone else was watching anxiously.

"Mark, how could you do this?" she forced angrily. I felt so guilty now. Everything that went on between us yesterday, my conscience was beating me up. "I... I'm sorry. I just thought, since you broke up with her..." I wiped a droplet of sweat that was forming on my forehead. I had only seen her this sad once before, right after Angel's funeral. Her eyes began to water and her nose and cheeks got brighter after she looked after her shoulder back at Maureen.

"I didn't..." Joanne whispered, wiping her eyes to be sure no tears fell from them. She stormed away to her seat, picking up her coat off of the back of it. I followed her, slowly placing one hand on her shoulder which she immediately waved off. "I'm fine, I'm fine." she said, picking her bag up off the floor next to her. "Don't leave..." I suggested painfully. She shook her head, trying to hide the obvious fact that she was upset. She headed away, but before leaving out the front door, she looked back at Maureen, who was, actually, giving her a sympathetic look back. She hesitated for a moment, but decided with her plan and left the restaurant, the door's bell ringing as it did.

I stood were I was at her seat, no one else moved either. We all just waited there inaptly. "Well..." I said slowly. I looked to the right of me at Collins, but something shiny on the chair caught my eye. I furrowed my eyebrows for a brief second and picked up Joanne's keys, shaking them so they jingled. "Oh..." Collins muttered under his breath sorely.

"What should we do?" Maureen questioned as everyone stared at the key ring I continued to dangle from my index finger. Collins got up and slid on his brown trench coat. "We go to her house. It's gonna be cold out once it's dark." He nodded, as if he thought we were all planning on leaving her stranded outside her house.

Everyone put on their coats and piked up their things silently before we all headed outside. The orange sky reflected against the fresh tar on the intersection of 10th street and Avenue B, and our breaths fogged as we breathed. Mimi folded her arms and Roger wrapped his around her. "Maureen, you know where she lives, lead the way." Roger commanded plainly. Maureen crossed the street and we headed up. Benny continued to come onto Mimi, while Roger guarded her strongly. I walked in the middle of Collins and Maureen, who was holding my cold hand down the street.

"It was about..." Maureen asked. I needed not hear more, and simply nodded. She seemed hurt, looking away and biting her lip. Then it hit me- Maureen would leave me. Joanne would apologize, so would she, and they would make out, leaving me alone again. I let go of her hand, watching my feet as they walked.

To my surprise, she grabbed my hand again, brung it up and kissed my knuckles gently, smiling at me. "Don't worry." She stated, and I let out a sigh of relief, returning her smile. Collins pat me on the back happily. "So, I'm teaching 10th grade English." he rolled his eyes humorously.

"You are?! I'm so glad you're actually doing something with your life." Maureen applauded in an unoffensive way. "How much are you making?"

"Not much, a whole grand less than I did at NYU, but it's enough to get by. Plus, that ATM is still working down at the food emporium..." He hinted in."Congratulations." I smiled before he randomly gave me a nuggie that messed up my hair to make Maureen laugh. "Oh, hey!" I whined. Maureen let go of my hand and neatened my hair back. Before lowering her hand, she did that thing with the back of my neck again, stroking it a few times before locking her fingers in mine once again. I tried to keep my inhaling and exhaling times steady as they had been before.

"Mark and Maureen, sitting in a tree." Mimi laughed, causing all three of us to look back, she lazily hung one arm over Roger's tall shoulder, and Benny chuckled, smiling slyly at her. I was red, Collins chortled, and Maureen stuck her tung out at everybody behind us quickly. As we reached Joanne's block, Maureen let go of my hand, conscious of Joanne's sensitive feelings right now.

I pushed my thick glasses closer and saw the silhouette of a person sitting on a distant stoop. As we got closer, I noticed that it was, indeed, Joanne. I pulled my camera quickly out of my brown bag and began recording as soon as we were on the new block. I stayed at least a yard away from everyone, handing the keys to Collins.

When we got there, Joanne was just finished a crying episode. Tears that once fell down her cheeks left a small, shiny trail down to her chin. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she sniffled once in awhile. I looked from behind my camera as the story unfolded.

When Joanne looked up at all of us, she seemed startled and embarrassed. She wiped the remains of her tears, but found no other solution to cure the aftermath of her sadness.

Maureen sat next to her on the same step and gave her a comforting hug, as Joanne started up on her crying again, embracing Maureen. I felt horrible for her, I knew what it was like to be in Maureen-withdrawal; it was not fun. "I'm sorry," Joanne apologized, letting go of her and wiping her eyes with one finger. "it's just..."

Maureen continued to rest a hand on her shoulder as Collins opened the front door. "Everything will be fine." Mimi smiled, sitting two steps below her, patting her knee. Joanne took Mimi's hand for a few seconds and smiled, breathing in deeply. I let out a small smirk as my camera stopped. I rolled it back before placing it gently back in my bag. I remembered, then, that this was what this family was all about, being there for each other through thick and thin. Hell, even being there for your recent ex.

"Thank you all." She appreciated after a few minutes of healing. Maureen gave her one last hug, followed by Mimi and I. Benny, Collins, and Roger stood where they were, smiling comfortingly, which she also seemed to appreciate. "I think I'm going to go. Eat a little something," she sniffled, "watch a movie..."

"We all still going to Maureen's audition?" Benny asked. I was surprised he had known about it, since I only found out earlier.

"Oh, count me in!" Collins voted, intrigued. Joanne looked up, and Maureen was looking at her hopefully. She smiled again and nodded. "Great!" Maureen cheered.

With that, we said our goodbyes and let Joanne have her peace.

"Oh! You guys mind if I crash with you tonight? I haven't gotten any sleep in weeks. My neighbor apparently has decided to buy a dog." Collins mocked.

Benny smiled. "Why don't you let me return the favor? Just how high is the apartment?" We all laughed in amusement and cheerful memoriam, if there even was such a thing. "Not at all." I allowed for everyone, knowing they would gladly let him with us.

"Guess we're all leaving then. I'll catch up with you guys next week." Benny waved. "Bye Ben-Ben!" Maureen was the only one who verbally responded. Ben-Ben? I made a disgusted face that she giggled at.

We all walked together, this time it was Roger, me, and Maureen walking together. Collins and Mimi followed close behind, talking about work. Roger and I recalled things we needed to buy, while Maureen just listened in contently, holding my hand as she had been.

Mimi began giving Roger a walking back massage, which caused him make provocative moans. It didn't help when Mimi leaned in, sighing, "Mm, yeah, you like that don't you, boy?". I became uncomfortable around them, but I eased as Maureen copied what Mimi was doing. "No, stop it!" I whispered, trying to get her off of me, but she wouldn't give in. I was so embarrassed to be like this with her in public, especially in front of my friends. "C'mon baby, you're all tense." she begged, using one hand to make it look to quiet Collins that we were just talking. "But I...oh!" I sighed. She turned her head. "Oh yeah, you like that, don't you baby?". I smiled, "Yeah... hey, no! Not here!" I demanded quietly, remembering where we were. She pouted, but followed my orders. Her and Collins talked the rest of the way, and I just stared at the ground listening to them with my hands in my pocket.

By the time we got to her house, she whined, "Oh, come on, I don't want to be alone tonight. Can't I stay with you?" Maureen begged, wrapping her arms around me and lifting a leg around mine. Mimi folded her arms and quirked her eyebrow at me slyly. My hands were far from Maureen innocently as she physically persuaded me into letting her stay with me. "Okay, all right!" I almost shouted, moving her by the shoulders away from me. She just smiled as we walked up one more block to our soon-to-be crowded loft.

That night it was pretty quiet. Poor Collins slept on the couch, where I had two nights ago, Maureen slept with me, and Roger and Mimi, of course, were the same. To my surprise, Maureen was calm and peaceful, she wasn't forcing me against the wall and beating me the old school S&M way like she sometimes did. Instead, we just lay there, occasionally playing with each other's hair, or talking about something funny that happened two weeks ago.

It disturbed me, though, that Mimi and Roger were having too much fun in the room next to us. I could tell they were making an effort to be quiet, but once in awhile I could hear a small yelp out of Roger. Mimi loved being in control, and I only knew this because she was a lot like Maureen, she would do anything anywhere just to turn you on. And you had no choice but to play along.

Maureen was getting ideas, of course. She always did. Every once in awhile she'd lower her hand down to my hip, but I would just take her hand hold it. She respected my choice, because she only attempted it two or three times, but she wouldn't stand for it after a few days. It went on like that all the time with her, and it wasn't like I wasn't in the mood, I just had to keep some of the moral values my very religious mother tried to force on me all my life. "No sex before matrimony!" As if I ever planned on getting married. Even if I wanted to, I barely had enough money for food. So it would just stay like this, for tonight, for the week, for the year... for life.


	8. The Audition and the House Party

The next seven days were uneventful. We barely heard from Joanne the whole week, but we knew she was fine because we ran into her while Roger and I were fulfilling our shopping list. She was pretty quiet, but good considering the heavy load she was forced to carry from the other day. "How's Maureen?" she asked with a hint of envy. I knew she didn't deserve it, Joanne was one of my best friends, I hated to see her like this, and all because of me. But I had a feeling she understood, she knew that you couldn't say no to Maureen.

We had sex four out of the seven days. Once at her house, three at ours. Collins interrupted us one of those three times, knocking on our door at two in the morning, unable to sleep. Maureen was growing accustomed to living with us, at least for the second half of the day. She would wake up with me, go home, eat a huge breakfast, get changed, get some chores done and come spend the night here. It was clear to Roger and Mimi what we were up to, but it didn't matter at the time, because my Maureen was with me, hypnotizing me away from all distractions only to pay full attention to her.

Maureen was already gone by the time I woke up that Friday morning. It was her big day- the audition. I was close to actually praying for her. Imagine it. Me, praying! I wound up not doing it. I hadn't prayed in years, why should this be the start of something new? Instead, I softly wished her a good luck under my breath every time I thought of her (which was quite often).

We went to pick her up just a few hours after I awoke. She was wearing the nicest looking dress-like thing that only went up to her knees. It wasn't very Maureen of her to wear something like that, but I loved it nonetheless. Then again, I loved everything about her. No matter what she wore, what she ate, how she did her hair... it all made me love her even more.

"You think I look okay?" She asked, pressing her hair down nervously. I nodded with a sad smile. Looking at her and knowing that she was all mine was almost ridiculously wonderful. She gave me a short kiss, leaving a sweet smelling smear of gloss on my upper lip that I secretly wiped off, as not to look like a girl.

We were all in too much of a hurry to even converse on our way to the subway station. We hopped on a train down to Midtown. Once we got to the empty theater hidden on some unknown side street, someone was already reading a monologue on the stage in front of five judges who watched his every tiny move. We waited in the back for Joanne, Collins and Benny, but by the time a supervisor noticed Maureen was hiding in our crowd, she was pulled away with no sign of our three guests.

We were the only ones in the entire theater, with the exception of two men sitting together in the back who were acting like they were judges of the performances as well, muttering evaluations after every performance. The chairs were metal and cold, and they made a loud screech when we folded them down. We all sat there quietly, staring at the performers go up one by one to be critiqued.

Thankfully, the three arrived only a few minutes later. We whispered hello and now we all sat in a row. I happened to sit between Collins and Joanne. "How are you? How's Maureen?" she asked, leaning in. Something was different about her, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Fine. And fine. How about you?" I smiled, giving her knee a comforting tap. "Fine." she was looking down, now.

Then Maureen came on. We all clapped for her, and she gave us all a quick wave. Her paper was in her hand nice and still, unlike many of the other contestants who were shaking like leaves. Right when Maureen started her monologue, putting great effort into it, we heard a small beeping noise. I looked up at Maureen nervously, who completely blocked the noise out. Two of the judges, however, turned around as Joanne pulled out her ringing cell phone. "Hello?" she whispered into the phone, "...yeah, uh, Steve... I can't talk... I know, I'm just busy... what? ...look, I need to go..." And with that, she closed the phone, tempered, and put it back in her pocket.

By the time Joanne turned her cell phone off, Maureen was nodded off the stage. "Who was that?" I asked her quietly, too curious to stop myself. She ignored me for a few seconds, then spaced back into reality, "Oh, just a client. I just..." Her voice trailed off. She was dismissing a client for no good reason? Joanne was almost as bad as I was when it came to her work, that was definitely not like her. "Oh..." I responded, silently drowning myself in guilt again. The next few contestants flew by, and before we knew it, they called all the girls back onto the stage.

"Okay ladies, You've all worked very hard today, but sadly we can only pick five finalists." I quickly reached in my brown bag and pulled out- wait... where's my camera?

"Number seven, number eleven, number sixteen, number twenty one, and number thirty two. Everyone else, thanks for coming. You all have talent."

There was a long silence. "Shit." Collins said too loudly. Everyone was appalled and disgusted. We were all watching her like hawks as she pouted off the stage, and in a moment's notice she was storming through the curtain door. "It's not fair! That little blondie 17 year old girl? Over me? These people have NO TASTE!" She yelled the last two words, causing a supervisor to turn around and give us an ugly face.

"You did great, Maureen, they don't see it." I comforted her openly as she buried herself into my chest. "Thanks..."

Then I noticed Joanne, watching Maureen with the saddest eyes. I immediately let go, turning her around to see her ex girlfriend who immediately looked away. "Joanne?" She asked, taking a step toward her. Again, she was calling people by their actual names. Definitely a new fad for Maureen. Joanne slowly looked up at her trying to get rid of her sad eyes, and failing. Maureen held both her hands on Joanne's shoulders, which just made her look even more pitiful. I smiled ever so slightly and- what was this? Jealousy?

Maureen kissed Joanne on the cheek, then hugged her. It was perfect timing, too. Right now, they both needed a friend to hold onto. Joanne embraced Maureen so tightly it looked like she couldn't breath. At that moment I was actually considering dumping Maureen just to make Joanne happier and get rid of all this guilt. But who was I fooling, I couldn't leave Maureen if I wanted to. I loved her, I was in way too deep to even think about doing the right thing. Besides, the guilt was already haunting me. Dumping her wouldn't help at all. For me, once guilt hits, it stays.

"I..." Joanne peeped out, causing Maureen to let go and look in her eyes. Joanne paused, "Never mind. Thank you, thank you." By now I was finished paying attention to the two, and I was down on my hands and knees looking for my most sacred item in between the aisles. "What are you looking for?" Mimi asked, the first to notice my ass between the chairs. "My camera!" I squealed in a whiny tone, trying my best not to panic. _Fuck. No. Shit. I packed it in my bag, I know I did... is there a hole in the bag? This can't be happening, it can't!_

Collins walked over and I relived a surprise and unwanted slap that practically made me do a backwards flip. "This boy is crazy." He laughed, grabbing my brown bag and, in the pocket, carelessly pulling out my precious -I mean- my camera. Thank Abraham.

I hopped to my feet so fast you'd think it was magic. "Thank you!" my cheer echoed through the nearly empty theater as I snatched the camera from his hands and gave him a tackle-hug. Okay, so I usually wasn't this excited, but if you thought your mother was going to die, and then you get a call from the hospital thats she's going to make it, you'd want to jump up and down too, right?

"Excuse me! This is not a playground!" one of the judges yelled, speed-walking towards us, "Take your crazy child's play elsewhere!" I could barely breath trying to hold in my laughter.

"Hey, lady!" Maureen called, getting her attention before she turned to leave. Maureen then proceeded to smack her own ass and flip her off with both hands. Roger, Joanne, Benny, Collins, and I all laughed hysterically while Mimi cheered "Woo, you go girl!" and with that, the lady jogged off to tell another judge about what had happened. "C'mon, lets get before we get 39 lashes." Mimi mumbled, sharing a sneaky look with Roger. "Not in public, guys, come on!" I blushed as Collins just snickered at me.

"Close on Joanne! She's just recovering from a small sadness episode after hanging up on a client for no good reason!" I narrated as we walked down the street, hoping to keep my camera steady, trying to cheer her up. She smiled, rolling her eyes at the camera lens before shoving her hand in front of it.

I walked behind everyone, Mimi occasionally turned around to make commentary on what was going on. By the time we got on the train I was reeling it back. I loved my camera, because it helped me through hard times. I could just look from behind it and know that nothing in the world has anything to do with me at that point, I could just break away from everything else and act like an observing ghost, just watching, not doing.

Maureen was trying hard not to be... herself around Joanne, especially because she would look over at us at least once with every passing minute. And every time she looked I got goose bumps, feeling like she was plotting to kill the both of us right here on the train. It wasn't the way she looked at us, it was just the guilt. It was horrible. If Joanne didn't kill me, then my guilt certainly would.

Being Maureen, she couldn't help but put her arm around my waist or pet my hair every once in awhile after Joanne looked away. I still got dizzy every time she'd lay a finger on me. It felt so indescribably wonderful, even the stomach cramps were enjoyable now. It was then that I learned the worst possible combination of feelings; love and guilt. Love is supposed to bring you up, but when guilt is on the ground shooting arrows at you, its hard to stay up without crashing down. Guilt, guilt guilt. It was the last bad thought after every good one. When would it end?

Once we all got back to the loft, we had the most lively 'party' I'd ever... hosted? Collins, Benny and Maureen talked on the couch, Roger and Mimi were too busy making out across the table counter, and I was left talking to Joanne. I was kind of happy that she was still talking to me, I mean, I loved Joanne. She was so much like me. I would have been mortified if she had any doubts about our friendship. We both avoided any reference to Maureen. Even looking in her direction was strictly forbidden.

"So what are you working on?" She asked, taking a sip of the soda she held. "Oh, nothing in particular." I answered briefly, "I'm just filming a whole bunch of stuff and seeing where it takes me. I feel pretty bad having no goal, but..." She nodded, letting a smile stretch across her face for a few seconds. Maureen laughed in the background, and I had to look to my feet to hide my smile. Her laugh was so cute, and the word 'cute' coming from me was absolutely ridiculous. There was no other way to describe it, though. It was cute.

"You don't need to hide it, Mark, I'm fine." Joanne corrected. My small moment of joy switched gears so quickly to exasperation. I looked up at her swiftly, to see the most serious face Joanne ever had on (and that's saying something about a lawyer). "I...um, I..." I couldn't say anything, I was completely speechless. "But, I..." Joanne just waited patiently. "I'm sorry?" I said as if I was asking her a question. My heart pinched as I evaluated her face's every expression.

"No, I don't want you to be sorry, I want you to be inconsiderate." I backed my head up like a dog in confusion. "You.. want me to be inconsiderate." I repeated, not exactly sure if I understood what she was asking of me. "Yes." She said calmly. "Don't change the way you act around me. I know you are." She could read me like a book. I hated being so predictable all the time. It was so bland. "I know you and Maureen are together. I freaked out a little bit the other day, but... I'm fine now. I'm over her." She explained, but she should have known I wouldn't have bought that lie. No one, _no one_ gets over Maureen so easily. I nodded in agreement, but nothing was going to change. I think we both knew it was just for pretend. I'd pretend I was acting normal, she'd pretend to be over Maureen. It made things a lot easier, but, for some odd reason, I just felt worse about the situation.

My face steamed as Maureen skipped over to us. "Well, I really need to go. Mom's coming over to visit tomorrow and..." her voice trailed off as she hugged Joanne, kissing her on the cheek again. "Bye!" she smiled with just a bit of sympathy. Joanne smiled back and went to throw her cup away, then it was just us.

"I'll see you in two days." She whispered, leaning in slowly. I felt so dry inside. I didn't get nearly enough of Maureen today, and I had to wait a long two days to get her back. I couldn't even kiss her goodbye properly because we didn't want to attract attention (even though once she pulled away, I heard a small "Awe" form Collins in the background). My smile was probably pitiful, as was hers, as she waved goodbye to everyone and exited the house. I tried to hide the pain of leaving her by sitting casually on the couch where she once sat.

"I better go too, lots of... paperwork to take care of." Joanne announced in an unusually quiet tone. She was a quick leaver, she didn't hug anyone goodbye, except for me. I didn't expect her to act the way she did at all while saying goodbye to me. She bent down and wrapped her arms around me eagerly. I played along, but thousands of questions ran through my head. I kept then all in with, "Bye, Joanne." and a faint smile. She barely announced her leaving, but once she did, Collins attacked me with questions, leaning in eagerly. "What... Are you having an affair with Maureen and Joanne?" His face was priceless, and I just had to laugh at it. "Ah! What _is_ wrong witchu, Cohen?!" He belted, getting Roger and Mimi's attention from across the room. Benny tried to mind his own business, but he looked over secretly to see my expression. My laughter calmed and the room went silent as I rolled my eyes, "Might I remind you that Joanne is a lesbian? I don't know what that was..." I shook my head, looking at the door with a confused expression. Something serious was going on with Joanne, and I was determined to find out what.


	9. The Revenge and the Guilt

Everyone slowly started disappearing. Benny left almost immediately after Joanne, and Collins followed. Roger and Mimi were keeping themselves entertained until they had to leave for work, while I positioned myself comfortably on the couch and thought. And I laid there for almost an hour, just thinking. My thoughts switched from Maureen to Joanne. I longed so badly for Maureen right now, the thought of going 48 hours without her pained me to the core of my stomach, causing me to turn over on the couch whenever I thought of it.

Then I thought of Joanne. Poor Joanne. She was lonely, and I knew how horrible that felt. I hoped she was okay, and every once in awhile I would convince myself that she was fine, but deep down I knew she was dying. Stomach pains came back, and I tossed over on my back again. The two of them flashed over and over again in my mind, until I had not choice but to sit up and distract myself.

"I'm going out." I noted my roommates who were unusually on opposite sides of the room. "Where?" Roger asked politely, but I knew he was in another world. "Just... I don't know. I need air." I said in an accidentally irritated voice. "You'll be gone by the time I get back." Both of them looked up at me. "Where are you going?" Mimi asked loudly, as if she hadn't heard my response to Roger a few seconds ago. I picked up my camera from under the projector, tapping it gently. They both went back to what they were doing and, without another word, I walked out.

My bike was parked in the hallway right before the front door, and I carried it down the steps, put it in the small basket attached to the handles, and road to an unknown destination. I had no intentions of filming, no intentions of doing anything, just riding my bike in deep thought until it got dark out to see any more.

I grew too tired to continue after only an hour of riding through the East Village. As I put my bike back in its usual resting place, I made my decision. _I need to do something. I... I'm calling Collins._

I picked up the phone to dial his number as soon as I walked into the house, unprepared for a phone conversation but in desperate need of one.

"Yeah?" he picked up in his normal too-casual tone. "Yeah, hey Collins. It's Mark." I greeted. "Hey! What's going on?" I sighed, relieved to hear a happy voice on the other end. "I'm having a problem. It's just that," I hesitated, but I knew Collin's was always there to help, so I went on with it. "I can't stop thinking about Maureen. I miss her so much, and-" He cut me off with, "Then go over to her place." I shook my head as if he could see me, avoiding explanation as I went on with my problem, "And I feel so guilty being with her because of Joanne. I mean, I can tell it's really bothering her." I heard a small sigh. "You got to stop letting this bother you! Let it go, boy, you had to go through it too. She'll be fine." I smiled. This is what I loved about Collins- he always made me feel better. "All right, I'll try... thanks." we exchanged good night's and I hung up the phone. I fell asleep early that night, taking advantage of the peaceful feeling inside while I could.

"For Christ's sake, Mark, get up!" I heard a voice whisper in my ear while receiving light punches on my arm. The sun through the window woke me up usually, but I felt no light on my eyelids as I groaned and rolled over, thinking it was just the wind making noises outside. "Come on, already!" Maureen begged louder, shaking my shoulder back and forth. As soon as I recognized her voice, I rolled back over, forging myself to sit up while opening my eyes slowly. "M... Maureen?" I managed to peep out. "What are you doing here?" I whispered, looking at the time on my alarm clock. 1:52AM. God, what _was_ she doing here? As much as I loved Maureen, I didn't love her waking me up at two in the morning. Great. I got her the one time of day when I wasn't yearning for her.

"I can't sleep." She whined as I slid my glasses on. "What... Did you walk here in your pajamas?" She nodded quickly. I looked down. "But Your parents are coming early in the morning, right? And you're not going to be-" "Can't I just spend the night?" She interrupted. I sighed with a smile. "All right, come." I commanded, putting my glasses back on the night stand. I rolled over on my stomach and tucked my arms under my pillow as she rushed to bury herself under the covers and move so close that I was holding her like a little teddy bear. I smiled at her lack of interest in anything but a good night's sleep. Like I said, you never could tell with her, but just being close to her right now made me feel so important, so complete.

I woke up the next morning as early as I'd gone to bed- at 8:00. I turned over , surprised to see that Maureen already left. Even though I was actually awake by 8, I decided to close my eyes and rest until 8:45, just thinking. Only this time I was thinking about happy things. Maureen's eyes, Maureen's lips, Maureen's hair... I smiled at every painful feeling I got inside. By the time I got out of bed I was wide awake. Mimi was already up and making coffee in her leopard-print robe. "Morning, Mark." She smiled in her scratchy just-woke-up voice. I smiled back, "Hi, Mimi." and got into the ice cold shower.

By the time I got out and dressed, Roger was up, insisting Mimi used the bathroom before him.

"How did you sleep?" I asked her nicely. She looked up and smiled at me, contently quirking one eyebrow. "Oh...ew." I mumbled as I looked away. Why did she always have to give me a visual? Why couldn't she say, "Fine, Mark. And you?"

I sat at the counter and picked up my book, pretending to read it. But I couldn't concentrate on anything at all right now. I was too caught up in everything; how lucky I was to have Maureen back, how Collin's had set me straight last night... life was wonderful.

"Oh!" Roger exclaimed, taking the newspaper and unfolding it carelessly before sitting down next to me. Mimi placed two cups of coffee on the table in front of us. "Why thank you." I smiled. Coffee was okay, It wasn't like I couldn't wake up in the morning without it, but it was a nice treat once in awhile. Mimi stroked Roger's messy hair back in one swift movement on her way out of the kitchen while Roger ran a hand gently against her hip. I looked down, then took a sip of the coffee Mimi had generously made for us.

"Well? Oh, what?" I asked Roger who seemed to have forgotten about what he was so eager to tell me. "Oh!" he repeated, "We're all going back to the Life in two days. You know that, right?" He asked, flipping the paper to the next page. I lifted a hand and shook my head quickly "No, how..." I sighed, taking another sip. "Great." Why was I always the last to know these things?

I spent the rest of the day working with my film, trying to distract myself. 36 hours to go... Sleep was much harder than the night before, I kept waiting to hear a little creek at the door, only to see Maureen back in my house, um, loft... bed. But who was I kidding? She was asleep in her nice, warm, heated apartment with her parents. And I was stuck here, staring at the ceiling wide awake wishing I could wrap my arms around her. I slowly drifted off to sleep by 1AM, only this time I got up at 10. The next day was the same routine; yearning, talking, yearning, filming, yearning, sleeping. I woke up that day the way you would imagine an eight-year-old to wake up on Christmas morning. "It's finally... today!" I cheered in a whispered tone. I was ready in no time, eager to leave by 11:30.

"Mark... It's not even the afternoon yet. Get a grip!" Roger joked. "When are we leaving?" I asked eagerly. He chuckled silently. "7:00." My jaw dropped, and I reluctantly threw my brown bag in the corner by the coat rack, plopping on the couch with my book for the next few hours.

"Are we ready yet?" I asked them routinely. "Not yet!" one (if not both) of them would scold me every time I asked. When everyone had their things, I practically ran to the Cafe. I had never been so excited to get there quickly, and imagine my disappointment when we were the first ones to arrive. I sat on the stoop, silently playing around with my camera. "Hey guys!" I heard Maureen cheer. I looked up like a rat on drugs, put my camera quickly back into the bag, waiting for Maureen's tackle that spun me around and nearly knocked me onto the pavement. The rest of the group followed a block behind her, but I didn't care right now. I kissed her so furiously, holding her head in my hands while her arms were wrapped around my neck, pushing me into her. I looked at her with amazed eyes when she pulled away, more than thrilled to have her back. "I love you." She told me right away. I felt sick. "I...I love you, too." I whispered, giving her another, but much shorter, clash of lips.

"Hello, Tom." I greeted Collins jokingly-formerly after I had my relief. Then I went and hugged Benny. To think I'd ever hug Benny, eh? And then I went for Joanne. "How are you, Jo?" I hugged her comfortingly. She grabbed me by my waist and hugged me back. "Hey, Mark. I'm just great," she smiled, nudging her forearm against my own. I looked over at Maureen, and she looked back. She gracefully stepped over to me, fingers entwined in mine. Maureen let go once we were at a booth, to tell Collins one thing or another. I looked over at Joanne, who just stood there smiling at the pictures on the walls. Then I looked over at Benny, Mimi and Roger, all engaged in a deep conversation about someone who stalked Mimi all last week after work. I turned around to look at the paintings and ancient rock band posters hanging on the tall stretching wall above us with Joanne . "Hey, I wonder if they have-" I was halted by just about the most unexpected thing by just about the most unexpected person.

Joanne. Joanne, Joanne the lesbian. Joanne the lesbian, attacking me with a kiss. My eyes popped open in shock, and I struggled to get out of her strong grip, but nothing was working. All that I could think was, _Oh my god, what the fuck! What. The. Fuck! _She wouldn't stop, and everyone turned to look. Benny and Maureen gasped at the same time, and Collins announced exactly what i was thinking, "What the _fuck_?!" I couldn't do anything. I kept my eyes opened, fidgeting until, finally, I bit her toung, which immediately made her let go of me in pain. I ran backwards until my spine cracked on the table, and I held my position. I breathed quickly, so many feelings going on at once. Confusion, fear... _This is a dream. I am asleep. Wake up, Mark, wake up._ I told myself, holding the same exact pose, clutching the table behind me tightly, which, too, was now shaking.

"What the fuck, Joanne?!" Maureen shouted, so close to punching her in the mouth. Her screams attracted attention from other booths, who all tried hard to mind their own business.

"Yeah, Mark," she moaned provocatively, taking a step toward me while completely ignoring Maureen. I violently tried to back into the table more, but I could go no where.

Maureen snapped. Grabbing her ex-girlfriend by the shoulder, she turned her toward her, and struck a hand right across Joanne's face. I made no reaction but a swift blink, the other guys jumped in surprise, and Mimi gasped before cupping her hands to her face.

Joanne made no reaction to the cheek that was now red, though. In fact, she laughed lowly at it, throwing her head back. "You see, Maureen? You see? That's what it feels like." She laughed. This was it- Joanne had gone completely crazy.

"What feels like?" Maureen demanded in a growling tone, almost blue from anger. Joanne didn't answer, and received a softer warning slap. "What?!" I was amazed, now, slowly wiping my mouth with my sleeve (but keeping the same position), about A, how much Maureen cared about me, and B, how much she was willing to kick Joanne's ass on my behalf. But I did feel bad seeing Joanne hurt, but, like Maureen, I still demanded answers. She laughed again, "How it feels to watch someone you love, with someone else. You see, Maureen? That's how I felt that day at the Kink Club. And that day at Coney Island, and just about," her soft voice grew to a loud, hoarse yell, "every day of my life!"

Everyone was silent, until a waiter marched by, "Excuse me! Take your garbage elsewhere! This is a restaurant of peace, not a fight club!" And with that he stormed off. After a few moments of everyone calming down, Roger grabbed Joanne and dragged her out, then Collins took Maureen out. I sighed, carefully standing up, still breathing heavily. Mimi slowly came over and wrapped an arm around my neck, slowly leading me out. Benny grabbed everyones bags and followed behind us.

As soon as I got outside, I practically hid behind Mimi, who was my savior at this point. Maureen and Joanne were bickering and stammering on and on, with no breaks or pauses between sentences. I kept my guard up, waiting for Joanne to press her face into mine again. Mimi stood with me like I was an abandoned animal left in the rain. Collins put his arms between the two to hush them. Snow was beginning to fall, but in this case, it wasn't a sign of joy, only a sign of bitterness.

"Guys, look..." He began. If only Angel were here. She would sort this mess out.

"Joanne, I know you are upset about this change, and Maureen, I know you're furious, but we need to be cool, here." He sighed, letting his hands fall back to his sides. Benny made a daring attempt and rested a hand on Joanne's shoulder. "Look, I'll pay a therapist for her, okay?" He asked, facing her crying face. She wiped her tears and nodded. I wanted to go over and comfort her, but I was still afraid Joanne would lose control. And I wanted to go over and comfort Maureen, but I was afraid that too would sent Joanne off on a rampage. There was a long pause. "I..." Joanne peeped, still trying hard to breath properly. "I'm sorry Mark, I'm sorry, Maureen." She said sincerely, as Roger handed her a tissue. Maureen sighed, "I'm sorry, too, Joanne." After a few seconds of awkward staring at each other, the two gave each other a huge bear hug. I smiled, and Mimi gave me a short, comforting hug as well, to assure me that everything was going to be fine.

"Joanne, why don't you spend the night at my place." Benny offered. Joanne put a strange look on her face, and Mimi couldn't help but laugh just a little. Benny looked over at her and shook his head. "Fine, go with Collins then." he grimaced, handing Joanne gently over to him. Both of them gladly accepted and, after a nice not-controversial hug from Joanne, they departed.

"Why can't we ever have a normal time here?" Maureen complained, still semi-annoyed about the whole situation. I smiled, shaking my head. "Well..." Roger mumbled, trying to break the boring silence.

"Well, if nothings going on, I guess I'll be heading home." Benny announced, hugging each and every one of us. I could still tell that Roger was keeping a close eye on Mimi and Benny, even with an innocent goodbye hug. And then we all headed back to Avenue B.

Maureen was all over me on the way home, claiming me as hers. I tried gently pushing her away every chance I got, but she never gave in. It wasn't that I didn't want Maureen, but... Joanne. I still felt horrible, in fact, I felt worse than I had before. It was my fault, all _my_ fault that Joanne lost her mind. I was to blame.

"So..." Maureen began, brushing the snow off of my shoulders, "Joanne's a good kisser, isn't she?" she half-joked. I turned my head sharply to her, shaking my head to say "Why, Maureen? Why?" She giggled at my reaction and squeezed my hand once to assure she was over it.

She didn't even have to ask to stay over tonight, it was routine now. I was actually considering taking her up on the offer she made to live with her instead, but I knew I couldn't. I had to be there with Roger and Mimi. Besides, I was getting to enjoy the waiting for Maureen game.

We ordered Chinese food with the money we were going to spend a the Life Cafe earlier, and it was pretty quiet for the most part. Maureen was still clinging to me, and things got worse later that night. I was determined to get a nice, long nights sleep to escape from this insane cloud of guilt that was following me around like a shadow, but Maureen had other plans.

As soon as I closed my eyes to fall into a dream, I felt a splash of water on my forehead that caused me to squeal like a little girl. Maureen took water from a glass that sat next to her, and was loosening my hair so that it fell down above my eyes. Why? It looked better up. Not that it even mattered anyway, I was only going to sleep.

"May I ask what you're doing?"

"Making you cute." She answered, looking down at me like a baby in a crib.

"Well, quit it." I demanded softly, turning away from her. It was so hard for me to resist, but I couldn't go on with this without feeling horrible. Before I knew it she turned me on my back and pulled my head into hers. I sat up, not thinking of anything but her, and kissed back. When I was sitting up, Maureen hung herself from my neck like a lanyard monkey you got at a zoo. I slowly tuned my head away, so she was left kissing my cheek. There was a pause as I continued turning my head away from her, but she gently tuned my glance back with two fingers. I avoided her eyes as she asked, "Are you all right?"

I sighed, still looking down. "It's just..." I began, afraid she'd slap me across the face just like she did to Joanne if I continued. She just continued to stare at me, waiting for me to go on. "It's just... Joanne."

"What?" she gasped, "Oh no! You're attracted to her now, aren't you?!" She demanded. I shot my head back up, "No, no! Not at all!" I insisted. She grew calmer, but she was still annoyed that she was forced to remember. "It's just that..." I started, making another pause.

"It's just that what?" I looked down again. "What?!" she asked, a little louder.

"I just feel so... guilty. It's all my fault, and there's nothing I can do to help." I was forcing myself to stare at anything but her, and then I felt a joking tap on my cheek. I closed my eyes, knowing that I deserved to be beaten, but I knew Maureen would never hurt me on purpose for no good reason. Then again, this was a good reason. "I deserve to be hit." I mumbled, so ashamed not only about Joanne now, but that I was causing Maureen to suffer, too. She looked at me from below where I hung my head, then hit me much harder, something I did not expect at all. "Agh!" I complained in pain, looking up at her. She was, to my surprise, smiling. Then I saw her lift her other hand, and I was hit again. My eyes were closed, I had barely any idea what was going on, but, somehow, I felt good about it.

Suddenly, in one swift and violent movement, I was pushed off of the bed, falling flat on my face. Good thing I didn't have my glasses on. I tried getting up slowly, but she hopped to the edge of the bed, dragging me up by the loose, old tee shirt I had on and slammed me against the cold wall. "Ugh..." I groaned. My head was pounding, my eyes were still shut tightly, but for some bizarre reason, I was enjoying every moment of this. "You... ow..." I tried to say something, but Maureen's lips were in my way. God, she was so... So...

I was turned around, and pushed back onto the bed, and she tackled me with the most violent -to the point where I had to pull away every few seconds for pain relief- kiss I'd ever received. That night was probably the strangest yet most amazing one I'd ever had.

When I woke up the next morning, she was still there, wrapped in the blanket like a caterpillar in a cocoon. I smiled, brushing the hair out of her face, forcing myself out of bed right away today.

To my surprise, Mimi and Roger were both wide awake, ready for the day, when I was only plopping out of the bedroom. "What time is it?" I asked them both, forgetting to check the clock. "11:30" Roger chuckled.

Right behind me followed a happy Maureen, who wrapped her arms around me from behind. "Last night was wonderful, Marky." she cheered, and I felt like I was getting electric shocks all through my body. I was boiling red while I just stared awkwardly at Mimi and Roger, who both gave me the same look back. Maureen, however, skipped to the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes (she kept some here, now), and locked herself in. I sighed, walking stiffly to my stool, sitting scrunched together. Roger nudged me while laughing mildly under his breath, and I gave him a death glare that only made him laugh more. How much more embarrassing could this moment get?

The phone rang, as if some higher power was looking for a way to save me from my temporary misery.


	10. The Therapy and the Game

_Speeeeeeeeaaak. _"Guys, listen, Joanne is in for her first meeting today." I shot up and picked up the phone. "Benny? Yeah..." "Hi Mark, I checked her in for an early appointment today. I know it's early, but I was worried she'd get worse. I scheduled an emergency meeting with a therapist uptown, and-" I cut him off. "Uptown? I hope she's not going alone." "That's what I called for. Mark, I was wondering if you and your kin would take her with me." I thought for a minute. "Yeah, I'm sure the others won't mind." This caused Roger to look back. I mouthed "Joanne" to him, and he nodded, looking away while taking a sip of his coffee. I wrote down the directions and times Benny gave me, and we hung up.

"We're taking Joanne to her therapist. You have an hour to get ready." I informed them, hearing Maureen's voice singing an indistinguishable tune in the shower.

Roger nodded it off, as Mimi did a little spin around him as she went to pretty herself up.

The creek of the bathroom door opening got both of our attention. Maureen danced over to me on the couch, sitting like a puppy in my lap. I glanced over to see if Roger, -who was caught up in the paper's word search- was looking, and I leaned into her. I was such a hopeless romantic for this girl, but what could I do? She'd be the death of me.

After a few minutes, I knew I had to get ready, and I lifted her off of me gently. She tugged on my shirt like a baby and I gave her one last short kiss that, to my dismay, got Roger's attention.

I was in the shower a lot longer than I usually was, absorbing the unusually warm water. I left my hair down today, remembering that Maureen liked it that way. Mimi giggled when she saw it, but I wasn't doing it for her anyway.

By the time I had all my things together, it was time to leave. I pulled my usual jacket on, slipped on my usual sneakers, and picked up my usual brown bag. We were meeting Joanne and Benny at the station, and, sure enough, she was the first one there. Silently, after a quick hello, we all headed down to the subway. Joanne sat next to me, and I got a little nervous at first, but I had a feeling it was to prove that she could contain herself.

Maureen sat next to Roger, and Mimi sat next to Joanne. Everyone was all out of order on Joanne's behalf. I rested my legs against the pole, trying to find a more comfortable position.

After a long, boring ride to uptown, we finally got off, barely saying goodbye to Joanne (and Benny, who decided to stay with her) as she entered the therapist's office. Suddenly, things went back to normal, and Maureen held my hand tightly. I fought a smile, but gave in I let it appear anyway. "Well, what now?" Roger asked, holding Mimi.

I shrugged, nervous as Maureen kissed my hand. "Well..." I tried to keep my voice steady,

which was hard to do with Maureen in such an affectionate mood. Wait- when was she not in an affectionate mood?

"Theres a little diner place I went to a few years ago a couple of blocks away from here..." Maureen shrugged, and I wrapped my arms around her waist. The others nodded, and we followed her up the block.

The Moondance Diner was steamy and greasy inside, but at the same time it had an unidentifiable charm to it. Although it was a Sunday, there weren't really many people inside. There was a beefy looking African-American cop having coffee with his shrimpy pale partner. There was a student working on a laptop while picking at a burger, and a lanky, pale, black-haired man messily scribbling something into a journal of some sort. We all sat in our expected seats; boys get the window seat, girls sit as close to them without killing them as possible.

After a silent period of glancing through the menus, a young, silky-white waiter with long auburn hair came over to us with a pen resting on his ear. He swiftly grasped it between his fingers and held it firmly to the pad. "Are we all ready to order?" he asked kindly, bearing a set of shiny teeth that almost reflected the sun through the window.

"Um, I think we're all just going to have fries today." Maureen smiled weakly, talking in an unusually formal voice. She took the menus from us fluidly and handed them to the waiter, returning the same toothy smile. I looked down, resting my hands patiently on my lap. I hated it when she was so nice. I was always half expecting her to pull people over to her out of nowhere and strip them nude. I was relieved from my horrible nightmare, though, when she gently patted my knee under the table with her sweetest "I'm so cute" smile masking her lips.

Everything was pretty silent except for Maureen's occasional stammering. Once our fries came (and Maureen and the waiter exchanged flirtatious glances), we all started up deep conversations. "What are you guys planning to do with yourselves in 20 years?" Mimi asked, and I was speechless. What _was_ I doing with myself? I was making films, but... where did I expect it all to take me? I could have punched Mimi after she asked that, because ever since I hadn't let it escape me. Before every major decision, I now had to stop and think, "Where will this put me 20 years from now?" It drove me insane.

Our bill was acceptable, and Maureen decided to leave an extra tip for the pretty boy waiter of ours. I had a feeling she could tell I was bothered by the situation, so she planned to tease me with a mockery of his infamous smile all day long.

When we got back to the therapist's office, Joanne was already out, waiting patiently in the lounge-style waiting room reading a torn up magazine. As soon as she noticed us standing in the doorway, she smiled, eagerly leaving the magazine on the chair and attacking me with a hug. "Mark, look, I'm really sorry about the other day. I was stupid and out of control. I know you were uncomfortable, and I hope we can forgive and forget." Joanne announced, turning to Maureen, "And I'm so sorry for trying to make you jealous. It was wrong and immature of me." I knew that the therapist probably told her to apologize one more time, but there was still sincerity in her voice, and I gladly accepted it, "Already forgiven and forgotten." I promised for both of us, patting her on the shoulder as we all lead her out.

Right when we got off of the train that took us back to the East Village, Joanne got a call on her phone. "Joanne Jefferson." she greeted. I smiled, remembering the difference from the way she spoke at Maureen's audition. She was so much happier now. Amazing that one meeting can change a person entirely. "...What? N...no! Steve, look, I'm sorry!" she begged, stopping in the middle of her walking, causing us to all look back at her questionably. "I was just going through some hard times, and... Steve? Steve!" she asked repeatedly. Knowing there was no longer anyone on the other end, she snapped the phone closed and cupped her hands to her face. "What?" Maureen asked in a concerned tone as we all gathered around her.

"Steve... I've lost my most loyal client." she cried, still covering her face in distress. Thanks a lot, Steve. Maureen wrapped her arms around her, and we all comforted her the same way. After the line of hugs, she calmed herself down. "I'm sorry. I'm making a big deal out of it." she confessed, and Mimi shook her head in response. I felt horrible for her, she was just beginning to recover from one problem, and in came another. This was not a good time in Joanne's life for sure.

We all decided to walk her home, even though it was far out of our way. The whole way there, everyone took their part in convincing her that Steve was a nothing, and it seemed to work well, considering how upsetting this was to her.

She invited us up to her apartment that I'd only seen once or twice before, and it was amazing. She had all of the things you'd expect a person like Joanne to ever need or want. As we all walked up to her apartment (which was more like a suite), Collins, who had never seen it before, examined it's every nook and cranny, occasionally exclaiming things like, "Damn, girl!". The rest of us plopped on the couch as Joanne scrolled through channels on her huge television. All of us had forgotten about Steve by then, and we were all just caught up in being together, laughing occasionally when Mimi commented on what show Joanne skimmed over. When Collins took his place on the armrest next to Joanne, he wrapped an arm around her in comfort and friendship, and they both exchanged a short, sweet smile. I was glad that they had each other; they could really relate to the loss.

We watched some chick flick on the Lifetime channel about a woman whose husband was a murderer. Collins criticized through the whole thing, and the girls wound up in tears. Except for Maureen, that is. She was going on and on with Collins, who finally decided, once the credits began to roll over a soft piano tune, that he was going to treat us all to pizza. He picked up Joannes phone, dialing all but one number, asking us, "Y'all like pepperoni?" everyone nodded, and he called for two large pepperoni pies.

"So I'm going to drive over to Harlem to meet my parents in a few weeks. Somehow word got out that I've lost my mind and they want to see me." Joanne stated so matter-of-factly. There was a short pause. "When are you driving out? How long are you...?" Maureen asked in the same tone. Joanne seemed prepared to answer as she pointed Collins over to her VCR stack to pick out a movie to watch. "I'm leaving next Thursday morning, coming back Sunday evening. They say they want to... I don't know, spend time with me." She bothered to explain. Collins continued to mumble the movie names silently, and Mimi hung off of Roger silently as she usually did. As for me, I was sitting between Maureen and Joanne, ironically; though it seemed like Joanne was completely healed, I could still feel the shaking in her breath, her eyes told the story. I was surprised at my unusual ability to tell how she was feeling, Joanne was a closed book. I suppose I only knew because I once acted the same way, and for the same reason.

So, there I was. Caught between the two again. I wondered how long the guilt would linger, even though it should have left me long ago, I know it should have. At least I had momentary freedom of the guilt whenever Maureen reached out to pet my arm subtly or give me her sweet smile that always made me flustered. The little thins really mattered, and they still gave me chills.

_Oh gee, no._ I felt myself lost in a dream, Maureen and her... her everything. When I snapped out, I could feel myself being stared at by the entire left side of the couch, folding my hands nervously between my legs, looking over at Benny being pointed at by Mimi, who was laughing hysterically.

Collins finally whipped out a blank VHS and popped it into the machine, snickering as he pressed rewind. I figured that Joanne would be the kind of person who always rewound tapes after watching them, but I guess you learn something new everyday. As this went on, Roger got up without notice and slowly walked over to the bathroom. I couldn't be sure, but I could have sworn that I saw Benny wrap one arm around Mimi. I looked over fleetly, and, sure enough, there he was, stroking Mimi's cheek, and whispering something in her ear. Mimi didn't oblige to whatever Benny was secretly sharing, and tried pushing him off of her. I looked worriedly at the two, until the noise of Mimi's "get off!"'s caught everyone in the room's attention. Finally Benny sighed, noticing we were all staring at them, and obeyed Mimi's orders.

When Roger came back, he thankfully had no idea that something had just happened, and wrapped an arm around Mimi the same way Benny had (except from the other side). Maureen and I looked at each other, and she whispered to me, "What was that about?" I shrugged my shoulders thoughtlessly and looked back at the trio. Benny looked annoyed, Mimi, ashamed, and Roger had his head down by hers asking if something was wrong. She violently shook her head "no" every time, wrapping a leg sensually around Rogers, as if just to tease Benny. This kind of stuff went on once every now and again between them, probably because of the sexual tension that still lingered on Benny. I felt bad for him in a way, that maybe Mimi for him was like Maureen for Joanne and I.

When Collins pressed play and got up from his crouched position, we saw a dark hallway with many voices chattering. Whoever was holding the camera was shaking it so much that you could barely see what was going on. Only two voices were audible, Joanne's mother and father. I grinned; being a film maker, I was annoyed my the fact that the camera focus was horrible, to point out one of many peeves. I wasn't being critical, of course, but it was hard for me to watch others' home videos for that reason.

We soon discovered that it was a hospital, and Joanne was about to be born. "Smile for future generations, honey!" he said, but Mrs. Jefferson paid him no mind, just kept panting in pain as she was rushed to room where she would deliver her newborn lesbian lawyer.

"No! Why do we need to watch this?" Joanne whined as Collins snickered at the video, which was of her screeching and crying while being placed in her mother's arms for the first time. It time lapsed over to Joanne at the playground, trying to copy all the older children on the jungle gym. It hardly looked like what I would have guessed Joanne would look like as a baby, wearing two pink ribbons and overalls with bunnies on them.

Everyone (except for Joanne, of course,) was laughing during the entire movie, which ended at her tenth birthday party, where she and her friends had a messy cake fight. By time it ended, the pizza had arrived, and Collins gladly paid for it. I ate one slice and left the crusts for Maureen. "Mph!" Mimi began, chewing and swallowing her food before speaking any more. "Wanna have a little fun?" I quirked a brow.

"What do you mean?" Maureen asked semi-eagerly.

"Let's call it... a game." Mimi smirked slightly. "It's... a guessing... game. Someone will come up with a thing to guess, anything at all, and the person who guesses first has to make any two people... " She pursed her lips to end her sentence. A kissing game? God, no. I furrowed my brows and looked at my folded hands as the blood warmed in my face. Was she serious? I would never kiss anyone but Maureen! I prayed that no one else would agree to this.

"Sure, I'm game!" Maureen smiled, putting her plate gently on the coffee table. I looked over at her in shock, "Are you insane?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"Oh come on, Pookie, it's just a game, it won't mean anything." She insisted, resting a knee in my lap. I was in shock, almost angry, and upset that she would agree."

"Uh, don't you think that's a little dangerous, Mimi?" Collins noted, stretching his leg out. I nodded sharply in agreement. "Besides, two of us are gay, four of us are in relationships, don't you think that's cheating?" he seemed offended now, but not in an angry way.

"It's just for fun." Mimi said sternly, "It's not cheating because they're right here. And they're the only ones, right?" Mimi smiled pulling herself against Roger who rolled his eyes jokingly and stroked her hair. Maureen copied the nod I had given Collins, and Roger joined in, "Come on now. It's awkward, we're all friends."

Joanne and Benny stayed quiet. The two sides, guys versus girls, battled on, and we three were left watching. "Alright, alright!" Roger gave in, crossing his arms over his chest, "Alright, have your fun." Collins gave Roger a disappointed frown, but sunk from the arm rest down into a pillow on the floor, and everyone moved to sit in their own style on Joanne's blue carpeting. I was nervous, just hoping I would guess correctly every time. I knew what I was afraid of- kissing Joanne. Or worse, her kissing Maureen. This game was just a setup to kill me inside.

"Okay, I'll go first." Mimi smiled contently, "I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 30. What is it?" How was this fair? Anyone could win!

"Seven." Roger said randomly, and Mimi shook her head.

"Twenty-three!" Maureen guessed. Another wrong answer. Everyone's glance was on me. Apparently we were taking turns. "Uh..." I dragged on, "Eighteen?" Wrong. Shit!

We went around the circle at least three times until finally Maureen guessed, "Nineteen!" Mimi smiled, and Maureen cheered while clapping her hands. Good thing she got it, I knew she wouldn't make me the first victim.

"Mimi! Benny! Have fun!" She gave a sly grin, exposing her glistening teeth.

Mimi looked horrified, as did Roger, but Benny was looking at Mimi eagerly.

"Not fair! It's not fair!" Mimi complained angrily. Maureen just laughed, "Your game, not mine." To this, Mimi had no argument, and crawled over to Benny, giving him a short peck on the cheek. "There!"

Maureen sighed, folding her arms.

There was a long silence, as Mimi stared at Maureen's manipulative pose. Finally, she gave in with a high-pitched "Fine!" And at that moment, Benny's lips dove into Mimi's, for a thirty-second spit swapping. I held my head and decided not to watch them, sickened with the thought that I might be in Benny's -or Mimi's- place any minute now.

You could notice the excitement in Benny's face as they pulled away, and an unreadable blank expression on Mimi's, who silently motioned for Roger to go. "Uh..." he mumbled, all eyes on him. "Um..." he continued to think for minutes, while everyone waited patiently in their same positions, by no means excited to continue.

"What's my favorite color?" he asked in confusion of what was expected of him.

"Green." I answered immediately. It was so easy to tell, pretty much all he wore was green. All I got in response was a shrug and a nod, and just then it had occurred to me that I was about to choose which two of my friends to torture. I knew I couldn't pick Joanne, or Maureen, and I didn't want to bother Collins. "Uh, Roger and Mimi." I said in an obvious way.

"No couples!" Maureen corrected. I looked down discontentedly at the carpet. Although I felt sort of guilty making this kind of decision, an exciting surge of power came along with it, and it was then that I blurted out, "Joanne and Collins!"

They gave each other a worried look, and then an angry one at me. My thrill of control fell down to guilt and despair in an instant, but they both knew that rules were rules, and slowly, cautiously, and almost fearfully leaned into each other. Joanne's eyes were closed tightly, as if she were in pain, and Collins looked like he was sleeping. Despite their sexual orientations, they both put a lot of feeling into it. I had to look away as a thin bridge of saliva dropped from their lips, wishing that Mimi never opened her mouth about this game in the first place. They looked each other in the eyes apologetically, and I looked away every time I even thought I saw one of them point their glance at me.

"My turn? What was the exact date of my and Alison's divorce?" the room fell silent after Benny's question. "Wasn't it, like, May 5th?" Mimi guessed. Benny's eyes popped open slightly as he nodded in confirmation. Then Mimi's expression shifted to reveal an evil and menacing side to her as she shouted, "Maureen and Roger!"

"Mimi!" Roger whined in shock, and Maureen laughed. She was laughing, what did this mean? Was she attracted to Roger? Did she not love me anymore? This was unfair to everyone. "Yeah, Mimi!" I joined in with Roger bravely. Mimi rolled her eyes, "My game, my rules." I looked over at Maureen, asking these questions through my eyes. She smiled at me with radiant teeth showing, mouthing "love you", to me. I smiled, but tried my best to block out any and all sights, noises, or any other details as they kissed. It hurt more than it probably should have, to know that my love, my girlfriend was making out with my best friend right in front of me. It reminded me of the old days, before Joanne, when she was much more of a flirt, a cheating flirt at that. She seemed to have grown out of the cheating stage, though, and that made me all the happier, knowing I had her all to myself. Well, except during this game, that was.

"Sorry." Roger apologized softly, and I knew that was my cue to look up, that it was over. Maureen smiled at him, but not in the way I'd expected her to; her smile was friendly and almost comforting. Once Roger looked away at Mimi (angrily, mind you,) Maureen gave me the same exact smile, and I returned it. My blood pressure calmed, and I finally realized that Maureen did love me, and that this game was just for fun, not a relationship-threatening deathtrap. I took a sigh of relief, seeing that it was Collins' turn.

"Who is on the two dollar bill?" Everyone exchanged glances, most of us never seeing a two-dollar bill before in our lives, but Joanne sternly answered, "Thomas Jefferson. No, we're not related." she joked, receiving a chuckle from Collins in response.

I exhaled sharply, studying all of the faces in the room. Benny, Roger, Maureen, Joanne, Collins... everyone had already kissed someone except me. My palms were becoming moist; I knew it was my turn. Joanne gave me an apologetic smirk, but began sure enough with, "Mark, and..." she scanned all of the bodies, I was turning paler and paler with every passing second she considered her choices. I tapped my foot in the air nervously, waiting for Joanne to decide.

"...Roger!" she smiled as I dropped my jaw in terror, catching his horrified eyes. My stomach churned at the mere thought, sharing something with Roger that was supposed to be only for Maureen. I began to spit out random syllables of disapproval. Despite my slurs, Joanne shook her head gracefully, so unsympathetic, but I knew I had it coming. I sighed, lifting my head to the ceiling. Why me?

Roger had already slid over to me, and I avoided his eyes as much as possible, but I always seemed to meet them unwillingly. He looked so strange as he quickly leaned into me, and as his lips slid against mine, it occurred to me that this was the second time in a measurable amount of days that I had been wrongfully kissed. My heart's beat count sped up rapidly, so nervous that I could have thrown up in his mouth. My eyes closed lightly, trying to pretend Roger was Maureen. For a few seconds, I was so convinced that I placed a hand behind Roger's head, at which point I heard a slight gasp. I only realized it was my own when Roger closed our gap after I inhaled enough air. This was so strange, but really, it wasn't as horrifying as I'd expected. The worst thing about it, in my opinion, was that things would be awkward between us for awhile, even if it was only coming from me. I slowly opened my eyes as Roger finally pulled away, crawling back to his spot as if nothing had happened. I looked at my clammy hands and secretly wiped them on my jeans. It was over.

I glanced over at Maureen, hoping she wasn't angry with me, surprised to see her lips separated in a surprised, yet happy shock. I tilted my head slightly, signifying my not understanding to her, as usual, confusing expression, and she just giggled at me. I sighed with relief, then turned my glance toward Roger, who was just playing with his shoelaces. I may have been crazy, but now that I'd already been chosen, I was excited to continue the game.

"Who goes next?" Collins asked, smiling. Everyone seemed much more at ease now, everyone was so much more comfortable.

"Can't we just go around and command people, instead of the trivia?" Maureen asked eagerly. I tilted my head toward her again, and she laughed quietly.

"Maureen, we're not having an orgy." Roger clarified. Everyone except Maureen roared with laughter, but it halted quickly.  
"It's not an orgy! It's torturing and being tortured!" She snapped back. There was a short pause, as Collins finished, "...S and M?" Again with laughter. "Game over!" Maureen growled over-dramatically, jumping up from the floor. Just when it was getting fun.

"Maureen, we're just joking." I comforted, leaning forward slightly to stroke her ankle in comfort. I was in such a rage, I couldn't end it now! She sighed, plopping back down to the floor. "Well, Mark, you wanna go?" she asked after a few moments. Unprepared with any trivia, I lifted a shoulder slightly and nodded.

"Um, What... what is..." I struggled to come up with anything, "what... what are the colors of the rainbow?"

"That's easy!" Maureen immediately answered in a singsong voice. "Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet!" I smiled, and she already had her picks planned. Turning to Mimi, she blurted, "Can we do Mark and Roger again?" I narrowed my eyes, petrified. Why was she doing this to me?

Mimi shook her head, to my relief, but Maureen continued to pout about it. "Collins and Benny." She was smart, choosing Benny. All he'd gotten out of this so far was joy, but now he got to experience what each of us all had.

I didn't look away this time, instead I watched, enjoying every grossed out expression Benny concocted. This was definitely a moment I wanted on film, but I wasn't going to distract them by getting up. At least these sick memories would last a long time, I knew.

The game continued only for a few more rounds; Maureen and Collins, Joanne and Mimi, and Benny and Roger. Thankfully, I was graced with mercy with the rest of the game. I just couldn't wait to let all my energy loose on Maureen.

"Well, this was a lovely day." Collins said slipping on a fancy British accent while getting up to stretch, a few bones snapped into place as he did, "But we don't want to overstay our welcome." He was so polite like this, all the time.

"You're always welcome." Joanne smiled, directing her response to Collins. I could feel the connection between the two today, I could tell they'd definitely developed a personal friendship that none of us could really understand, but we had ideas. We all rose from the floor, and bared Joanne a farewell. She hugged us all, and Collins took the pizza box with him to throw in the dumpster in the alley across the street. Immediately after we arrived on the stoop, Maureen stuck her lips to mine, as if she'd known all along that she was going to, and I smiled when I thought that. She mouthed "Love you" after we parted, and as we walked home, I felt like a new person, with no troubles at all, not a care in the world, with everything I could ever ask for... except for a heated shower, that is. But as Collins (he was slowly but surely getting more used to living with us, because of his neighbor's dog), Maureen, Roger, Mimi and I all climbed up to our messy loft, I kept wondering how long it would stay like this, all of us together and happy. Nonetheless, I squeezed Maureen's hand tightly when she grabbed mine, knowing this was now, and now was wonderful.


	11. The Date and the Missing Condoms

After a few days I began to realize that things were completely fine between Roger and I, and, if it was possible, we just may have felt a little more comfortable around each other now. I couldn't really tell why, but because of Mimi's game I felt that we all had gotten closer.

It was about a week after that Sunday when Maureen and I were alone in the house minding our own business when she disturbed the calm silence that had taken place much longer than it felt. "Lets go out tonight!" she suggested, looking up from her bag of chips she was boredly munching.

"What?"

"Lets go on a date!" She smiled.

"Alright!" I said too enthusiastically, "Have any ideas?"

I saw her lift a finger to her lip and stare at the ceiling for a few seconds. "Lets keep it simple." She smiled. I found that strange; Maureen was an extreme girl who did extreme things, this suggestion was unlike her. Either way, I was happy with the change.

"Dinner and a movie?" I suggested. She shook her head bitterly, "Too usual. How about we go the beach? Lets go swimming!" I tilted my head back. "In the middle of January? We'll freeze to death." I smiled, noticing how cute she looked as she chewed on her nail in deep thought. "Well, I want to go swimming. Lets go to that indoor pool over in Brooklyn!" She said. I tilted my head again. "Brooklyn?! Do you know how long it will take us to get there and back? There's probably some kind of indoor pool around here somewhere." I said, inhaling deeply. This was her idea of keeping it simple.

"Well, we don't know where it is, now do we?" she snapped, folding her arms. "I'm going, and you're coming. Stop fighting." She grinned at me, and I exhaled a breathy sigh. "Okay, alright, we'll go." I looked up. Getting past the hour and a half train ride, it did seem like fun. She cheered silently and skipped to our room. After a few seconds of getting back to my work, she peeped her head out of the door.

"Well? Are you getting ready or what? Let's go!" She demanded, and I immediately jumped up and followed her orders. That was my Maureen.

The train ride went by faster than I had expected, since Maureen kept me laughing too loudly so that we occasionally got disgusted glances. I wore my bathing suit under my pants, and even though no one really paid me any mind at all, I was still hesitant to run around half naked. Unlike me, Maureen practically ripped her clothes off and jumped in the pool right away. I sat at the end of a long rubber chair nervously as she rose from the water.

"Come on, already!" she rushed. I slowly undid the button of my jeans and slipped off my sweater. The thin layer of warm water felt disgusting under my feet as I walked to the edge where Maureen was waiting for me. I slowly sat at the edge of the pool wall, then gently let myself fall in. The pool was heated, so thankfully there was no pain involved. Maureen continued to swim around in random places, and I followed her, doggy paddling, as I never learned how to truly swim. Suddenly, Maureen tackled me from behind, wrapping her arms around my neck and locking her legs around my waist.

"Piggy back ride!" she cheered as my head sunk into the water for the first time. I struggled, practically drowning, to follow her orders, but she got off of me once she noticed I was gasping for air every time I rose from underwater for a short period.

"You okay?" she asked through giggles. I brushed my hair up away from the tips of my red eyes and nodded as I coughed up the chlorine.

She swam away to a corner where the sunroof was not marred by the trees around the glass and pointed toward the lowering, orange sunset.

I smiled appreciatively at the brilliant sight. As far as I could tell, not very many other grown men would find the sight so appealing, but being that I had, not egotistically speaking, a good eye for beauty (being a film maker, that is), I treasured a good sunset.

"Nice." I simply stated, smiling humbly, and she returned the same smile, looking back at the sunset. Her attention span quickly shifted to "very short" mode as she hit me on the shoulder with her palm, getting my attention.

"Let's see who can hold their breath longer!" she chimed, but I immediately refused.

"Maureen, no, you know I can't-" I tried explaining over her as she counted to three, but with no luck, I realized she had sunk to the bottom already. I exhaled deeply in annoyance, but inhaled loudly right after and followed her. I felt confident since I had a short head start, but I grew weak as soon as I let all the air in my lungs float to the surface in large bubbles. After spotting her sly smile, I pushed myself back up to the surface and gasped for air.

"I win, I win!" she laughed, not even taking a large breath of air, as if she had gills. "Ha ha!"

I rolled my eyes jokingly and smiled sweetly at her. She responded by attacking me with a hug, causing me to glide back a short distance. "I love you, Marky." she told me cheerfully, her head gently pressed against my wet cheek.

"I love you too." I assured in a hushed tone. I held her tightly during our brief embrace until I found her soft lips crushing mine. I pulled away in a panic, noticing a small kid in an inner tube staring at us, blank and confused. She gave me an agitated glare. "Not here. There's kids" I whispered, avoiding the glance of the child whose eyes would not leave us.

She sighed loudly, "I don't care, Mark." Maureen paused, leaning her palms on my shoulders. "Why are you pushing me away?" She was frowning now and I could tell she was very upset.

"I'm not trying to push you away!" I demanded consolingly. "I just... this isn't the right place!"

Maureen was getting more frustrated now. "There's never a right place with you! On the street, 'not now', on the train, 'not now'. When and where is 'now' going to be, then, Mark?" I was speechless. I had no idea that she had been so unhappy with my public shyness. I sputtered out things like, "I... uh... but..." but she wouldn't oblige.

"I don't think I can live with this anymore, Mark. Are you going to give in or are you going to just leave me?" My throat was tightening with the words she spoke. I really hoped this wasn't going where I thought it was going. I looked sorrowfully into her eyes, but that sprung about no sympathy from her. I tried to respond, but I was all too shocked to get any words together.

She looked away disappointedly and let go of my shoulders. "Are you ashamed of me? Is that what it is? Do I embarrass you?" she started guessing.

"No!" I forced. If only I could get a word in edgewise with this girl. "I'm just..." I tried to admit to my excuse for my reluctance, but even that was difficult. I finally forced it out of myself and finished, "I'm just shy, okay? I'm afraid of what other people will think when they see us... you know... doing this stuff in public." I frowned and stared at my feet kicking in the water.

"So you _are_ ashamed of me." she stated. Why didn't she understand?

"No. Maureen," I whined, but she was being stubborn. I paused, knowing I wouldn't be able to explain my bashfulness to someone so open, and just pleaded for forgiveness instead. She was right after all, it was wrong for me to feel like this. As much as it hurt, all I could do was give in. "I'm sorry, okay? You're right, I'm wrong. I didn't know this was bothering you so much. I'll change, okay?" This made me think if she was being manipulative. Either way I shrugged it off. Either way, I still had to change.

She looked up at me disbelievingly. "Prove it." she was still frowning, mostly convinced that I wasn't going to change. I nervously looked around, no one, including inner tube boy, was looking in our direction, to my approval. I traced my glance back to her annoyed face, and attacked her with a kiss the same way she'd done to me. As much as I loved to kiss Maureen, I was anxiously awaiting the moment when we would split. At the same time, however, I felt daring, exciting, and above all, freer than I had let myself be. As the seconds turned to minutes of our kissing in the corner, I slowly felt less intimidated by the world around us, and by the time we parted, I felt like a new Mark. "Woah." I muttered to myself, still in a happy shock. Maureen was gazing into my eyes. I wished I could see them as clear as they would be with my glasses on, but I only imagined how glowing and beautiful they were (as they always were).

"I love you. I really do." She poured. I felt so good hearing her say that, it was so rare that Maureen would express her feelings to me in words rather than actions, and such serious words nonetheless. I found myself breathing harder, and that got me thinking again. I really did love Maureen. She was the only girl I'd ever loved and ever would love. Even now after so many years of knowing her, she still found ways to leave me without breath, and somehow I'd known that's what love was supposed to do to you.

"I love you so much, Maureen." I finally replied with a long smile running across my face. She squealed quietly and clung to me tightly. I knew then that this was the most perfect time of my life. I had my friends, my work, and most of all, my beautiful Maureen. I knew then that life wouldn't ever get much better, and with that I was totally overjoyed.

After a short pause, I suggested, "Let's go home." she let go, smiled, and nodded. I looked up at the skylight; through the bare branches of the trees I could see that it was night time already, and as I observed more carefully, I saw that I could have come to the conclusion by spotting parents chasing their whining children around, who chanted things like, "Just five more minutes!"

We got dressed quickly, already freezing. She suggested we use the showers, but I refused. Who knows what kind of germs were in there? I shivered at the possibilities I came up with, quickly switching my focus on another topic.

We took a cab home instead of the train, although we couldn't pay the full fare. The cab driver drove away, promising to charge the next passenger more than he owed to make up for our loss of money, which made me wonder how many times _I'd _gotten ripped off.

As we walked upstairs to the loft, we saw that Roger was already home, watching something probably uninteresting on the black-and-white 4-inch TV we had in the kitchen that only played 5 channels, one of them in a language we couldn't understand.

"You're home early." Roger commented as Maureen threw her leather bag down and grabbed Mimi's brush, which was carelessly left on the table along with a few bottles and tubes and snap trays of makeup.

"Yeah. Dimitri was sick so we couldn't rehearse." He explained bluntly, then looked up at us. "Where were you, anyway?"

"We went to the pool." Maureen said in a proud tone while forcing the brush through her straw- like hair. I smiled, knowing I'd never forget that simple yet wonderful time we'd had. Roger looked up at me, smiled, and went over to the refrigerator to get a snack.

Maureen sat close to me on the couch, and I stroked my hand over hers gently, my way of telling her that I loved her without actually saying it. She turned her palm around upon this and locked her fingers in mine. I glanced over at her very slightly and flashed a smile. We just sat there while Roger watched his show while loudly munching on cereal.

Maureen glanced over at Roger, then back at me, and flashed a devilish smirk. I looked up at him, then back to her. I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, but what she was smiling about was made clearer when I noticed her planting another kiss on my lips. I looked worriedly at Roger, praying in my mind that he wouldn't notice us, but when he looked up, I closed my eyes and pretended like I didn't see him. Slowly, Maureen gently began pushing me down, until my head leaned uncomfortably against the arm rest. I grew more and more uncomfortable, and even though I had my eyes closed, I could feel Roger staring at us. I tried pulling away, but she never would cooperate, and soon I felt her hand reaching into my shirt to slip it off.

Nervous that she was going to just start having sex in front of our roommate, I pulled away forcibly, smiling just a tad, and sat up from my neck breaking position on the couch. She pouted a little, but when she looked over at Roger (who was pretending to mind his own business), she seemed to understand and gave me a reassuring peck on the cheek.

Roger gave me an encouraging smile as he announced, "Well, I think I'd better be going to bed. Haven't gotten much sleep lately. Goodnight, you two." and he walked into his bedroom with a glass of warm tap water.

"Goodnight!" Maureen called out as he closed the door. Immediately after the door was shut, Maureen laid herself in my lap. I stroked her hair gently, and she looked up at me from her upside down angle contently.

This was the last thing I remembered before waking up the next morning. I had fallen asleep, and Maureen had apparently fallen on the floor in the middle of the night; she was spread across the cold wood floor with her shirt half up, and we'd both been greasy and dirty from the day before. My glasses were crammed between two couch cushions, but thankfully they were not damaged.

I groaned slightly as I forced myself to get up, rubbing my eyes as I did so before slipping on my smudged up glasses. I was careful not to step on Maureen, but when I picked her up to put her on the couch, she opened one eye and smiled ever so faintly. "Hi..." she whispered.

"Maureen, it's so early, go back to sleep." I said quietly, pulling her shirt down and moving a strand of air away from her face. She smiled again and nodded, rolling over to a more comfortable position. I hesitantly kissed her forehead before walking away, relieved to see that she smiled appreciatively.

As I went into my broken down dresser to choose my clothes for the day, it occurred to me that I was the first one awake for once. I tried to think up ways that I could take advantage of this rare occasion, but I thought of nothing.

I rushed my shower as I usually did and threw on my clothes. I was wearing a green sweater my mother had gotten me for Christmas (contrary to the other sweaters she sent me in the past, this one actually looked nice), and I decided to leave my hair down again today. I examined myself closer than I typically did in the mirror, slowly convincing myself that I was dressed too nicely to just stay home all day. I let my mind wander into ideas of what to make of the day while I left the bathroom. Mimi was standing outside, waiting patiently for me to finish my morning inspection. She grinned at me, then smiled suspiciously.

"You look nice..." she smiled. I was not used to getting such a fine compliment, so I merely muttered, "Thank you." I started to walk over to the refrigerator to make myself some breakfast, but Mimi was not satisfied with our brief conversation. "You know, I think you're up to something." she grinned as if she knew something she wasn't supposed to. I tilted my head a tad and questioned her about this, not having the faintest idea about where her mind was. "Up to something? Like what?"

"Oh, I don't know..." she said, quite obviously lying. "You planning on going out without Roger and me?" I smiled, Mimi was just the confirmation I needed to make it official that I was, indeed, dressed too good for myself.

"No." I simple said, "But... now that you mention it, that might be nice." I kidded.

Mimi frowned in a way that told me to stop playing around. Immediately I tore the smile from my face and waited for her to explain why she looked sad. Mimi seemed to hesitate about what she was frowning about, but eventually she inhaled deeply and spit it out.

"I need to talk to you. About Roger." she paused, waiting for a signal to go on, which I gave her with a short nod. "It's just that..." she elaborated, lowering her voice a little. "I really don't know where else to go with this."

I couldn't tell what shocked me more, the fact that she and Roger had problems, or the fact that she trusted me with them. I made a worried face, feeling like Mimi was giving me too much credit. I didn't trust my _self_-advice, how was I supposed to console her or say the right things to make her feel better? I got a pain in my stomach and decided to tell her how I felt about it. "Mimi..." I started, now regretting that I had, " I'm not sure if I'm the right person to-"

"Please?" she begged. I waited a few seconds in deep thought. She was coming to me in her time of need, _me._ Mark Cohen, being approached for advice. I didn't think that Mimi trusted me so much; part of me was flattered, and another part was in concern for her. Sure, I was trustworthy, but I never thought myself eligible for such deep communication with a friend in trouble. Despite all my doubts, I decided it would be wrong if I didn't say yes, and we agreed that we would go out to eat for breakfast together, one on one.

Now, once I made the commitment and waited for her shower to complete, I realized I had a new problem- how was I going to tell Maureen. Of course Mimi and I were strictly friends, but Maureen was becoming more sensitive toward me lately. I battled over weather i should wake her up and tell her or just leave. After a few minutes, I shook her until she grumbled and closed her eyes tighter.

"Maureen?" I asked.

"Ye." she said, not even finishing the word she was trying to say.

"Mimi wanted to talk to me about..." I paused, "some problems she's having, and so we're going to breakfast. I won't be long, okay?" I explained, hoping that she would understand.

She sighed, rolling to her back and rubbing her eyes. "You promise... you prom..." she tried to say through her tired grumbles, "...that you... that you're just friends..." she said it as if it were a statement, not a question.

"Of course, Maureen." I said convincingly, trying to make it sound like I wasn't expecting her to ask that. "Don't be silly. If it makes you feel better, I'll take you to dinner tonight, okay?"

"No money..." she reminded, trying to wake up but failing miserably.

"It's okay. We can always get fast food." I resolved. She smiled appreciatively at my suggestion and whispered. "okay."

With convenient timing, Mimi stepped out of the bathroom. Her hair was still wet, but she didn't seem to notice.

"I'm going to leave now." I told her. She held her arms out for a hug and I gave her one, and I moved toward Mimi who lead us out the door.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, throwing my brown bag over my shoulder.

"I don't know... let's just walk around until we find a coffee shop or something. I shrugged and agreed with her.

She was very quiet on the way there, as if she were in deep thought. I wasn't uncomfortable with it, though. In fact, I felt a little bit better not saying anything at all then if we were to make pointless small talk.

Finding a coffee shop took us barely ten minutes, and we walked into the Cappuccino Café . I smiled at the calm atmosphere and took a deep whiff of the sweet smelling air. We went up to the counter and bought pancakes and coffees. As soon as we sat down, Mimi began.

"I'm sorry I dragged you out of the house" she apologized.

"Why? It's nice to be out in the morning." I reassured. She smiled apathetically and moved on.

"I really don't mean to make you feel... responsible for this or anything, it's just that... I really thought you'd be able to help." I felt deeply gladdened by this comment, and decided that I really was worthy of trying at the very least to help her sort through her problems. It was my duty as her friend to do these things.

"It's okay, really, I feel really important." I said, she smiled and let out a faint chuckle, although I really did feel strongly about this.

"Well, It's just that... I think that maybe Roger was cheating on me." she said, and just like that, I could sense the change of mood. She carved a triangle out of her pancakes, letting me soak in the shock. Roger? Cheating on Mimi? She must have been paranoid.

"Well..." I tried to find the right question to ask. Already I was having problems, "what makes you think that?" I took a bite of my stack.

"Well, I mean... he's been really closed up lately, you know? And he keeps going out to buy condoms, even when we haven't had any sex." I was a little bit surprised at hearing this mostly because Mimi was so open about her sex life. I could never, not in a hundred years, be as open about myself as she was.

I nodded, not really knowing what to say to that. She seemed finished, so I knew it was my turn to respond. "Is there anything else?" she thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Well, besides those things, not really."

I put down my fork and swallowed my food before I began. "Look," I said, "Roger loves you deeply. The last thing I can see him doing is cheating on you. Maybe he's not opening up to you because of something else. Maybe... maybe something from the past is hurting him now." I suggested thinking about April, absolutely unintended to mention her directly. "As for the condoms thing, maybe he happens to keep buying expired ones..." She seemed to not be convinced by my last statement.

"I mean, he does tell you that he's going out to buy condoms, right?"

"Well, he tells me he's going to the store, and he knows that I look through the bags when he gets home, but..."

I paused to sip my bitter coffee. I wasn't really fond of it, but I pretended I liked it to avoid any conflict. Truthfully, Mimi's coffee was the only kind I enjoyed.

"If he was cheating on you, don't you think he'd be a little more careful with what he does with them?" I was surprising myself now with how I was rapidly getting better at comforting.

"Well, yeah, I guess so." she accepted, "But where did all the condoms go?"

I shrugged. "Well, maybe he's making an art project out of them." She seemed to enjoy the break in such serious conversation and laughed at my comment. She had nothing to say, so I just said what I thought might help her feel any better.

"Roger isn't the type of guy to cheat. Roger loves you a lot, Mimi. He wouldn't give you up for anything." She smirked just a little, trying to believe I was telling the truth. "But if it makes you feel better, I'll keep an eye on him for you." She smiled and nodded.

"Thanks a lot, Mark... really. You've really helped me out." And from that moment on, Mimi and I shared a deeper bond as friends.


	12. The Solved Case

**This is more like filler. Just to let ya know I've yet to give up on this.**

**This 'chapter' is deticated to JumpOVERtheMOON, a devoted r&r'er, but more importantly a caring soul. : )**

**-----------------------------**

Mimi and I chatted more on the way home, talking about anything but Roger. By the time we got back to the loft, both Maureen and our favorite condom buyer were up and about.

"You're finally back!" Maureen smiled and hugged me as soon as I walked through the door. I smiled and was just a little flustered since Mimi was right next to me.

Once Maureen had her fill of me and had walked off, Mimi gave me a short, friendly hug. I blushed at this, not because of reasons one would normally blush, but simply for the fact that I was so touched that Mimi cared enough to do so.

"Thanks." She said when she pulled away just a second later.

I smiled back, "Anytime." and with that, she was in another room, nowhere to be found.

I hadn't, of course, forgotten about my romantic dinner with Maureen at the fast food joint of her choice. We dressed, quite obviously, like we normally would.

"You coming?" she asked and waited at the door while I fixed my hair up in the way I usually would (except when Maureen made me leave it down).

"Hold on!" I slowed.

I peered into the mirror one last time before leaving the bathroom, making sure I looked just right. Just because we were together didn't mean I wasn't out to impress her.

"You look nice." she said as I approached her. I tried to hide my smile, bending down to grab my bag and coat that was carelessly thrown on the floor. "Thanks. So do you... as always."

Why did I say that? Was that too much of a compliment?

Relieved that she smiled at this, I threw on my old plaid coat and opened the door for her. She bowed half-jokingly in thanks and I followed her out the door.

"So, where do you want to go?" I asked, my words floating out of my lips into little clouds of fog that floated away as I inhaled.

"I'm not sure... wanna just get fries at the Life?"

I smiled. This would be the first time in awhile that I was really going out to dinner (if you could call it that) with Maureen.

"Sure, that sounds... great." I smiled. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder and we walked through the cold of February to the Cafe we knew so well.

We laughed too loudly like drunks on the way there, but once we walked into the warm Cafe, we were calm and coordinated.

"Two?" the waiter asked quickly, grabbing two menus off a pile.

"Yes, sir." Maureen answer sternly, following the man to our table.

We sat down across from each other and carelessly dropped our menus on the edge of the table, already knowing that we just wanted fries.

"So..." I said, trying to think of what to say.

"So," she repeated, stroking her leg against mine under the table. I smiled and looked down, resting my elbows on my lap.

Somehow, the waiter cam by quickly with a notepad in his hands and a pen gripped between two fingers. "You folks ready to order?" he asked in a high voice.

"Yes, all we want is fries and cokes." Maureen smiled courteously.

"Great! The waiter cheered and scribbled our order down before skipping off.

"So, I have another audition in a week." Maureen said casually.

"Really?! That's great!" I exclaimed, taking her hands loosely for a few brief seconds.

She smiled widely. "Yeah, but you can't come. And I won't know right away like last time... it's a call-back." she elaborated as I listened carefully.

"Cool!" What I didn't mention was the 'you can't come' thing. I was still going, even if I didn't get to watch her. How could I not go? She was my girlfriend, the one who I loved more than anything, I had to be with her then.

"Can't I come anyway?" I pleaded. She shrugged in response and nodded.

"Yeah. But you'll be waiting outside for a bit."

"I don't care. I want to be there with you." Why was I being so open today? This was weird...

We sat there rubbing legs for a few minutes quietly until Maureen looked away and began to speak.

"Hey... isn't that... Benny?" She asked in a hushed tone. I looked in the direction she was looking and agreed. That was, indeed, Benny.

"Yes it is! Who's that girl he's with?" I asked, only able to see her back from my angle.

"I'm not sure, but... she looks kind of familiar... doesn't she?"

Before we could carry on the conversation, our fries and sodas had been dropped in front of us with a "Here you go, sweeties."

We shoveled down our fries, barely even looking at each other. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed before we were done.

I waved for the check a few minutes later, and we picked up our Benny talk.

"You think we should go up and say hi?" she asked eagerly.

"No! Leave them alone... we can ask about it some other time.

"Oh, alright..."

The check. I grabbed it and opened the little book. $16 seemed like a good price for all this food, so I paid and gave the largest tip my budget could afford.

"Let's go home..." Maureen commanded, getting up from her chair gracefully and pulling me up by the collar. I turned red and tried to ease her off of her violent mod, but nothing could work. I slid my coat back on, and we avoided Benny as we left back into the cold.

"Come on, let's run." she giggled and raced through the icy streets.

"Wait!" I called and tried to catch up (almost getting hit by a car along the way). By the time I reached home, I was breathless from all the running, and my pants had slowly been dropping off of me. I picked them back up and tried to catch my breath as I forced the key into the lock of the first door, then the second right after (I never understood why there was another door two feet away before you were actually inside) and finally the one that took us into the empty loft. I sighed as I threw my coat off and ran to the sink, pouring myself a glass of warm tap water.

"You okay?" Maureen giggle-asked from across the room where she was helpfully picking my abandoned coat and putting it back on it's place on the coat rack.

"Yeah, fine, now." I replied with a smile. I was always so slow, even as a kid. Then I remembered back in school, when the coach of the gym class always slapped me around because I was always the last to finish in track, or the one to miss the first base plate in baseball. Immediately I shook these memories out of my head, focusing on something much more important, my frisky girlfriend, who was pulling me by the hand into the bedroom. Then I remembered, it was the work hours for Roger and Mimi... yes.

As if reading my mind, Maureen asked sweetly and she closed the door, "When do they come back?"

"Uh... Mimi around 1:30... Roger... usually about the same-"

"Good."

And there she was, pushing me down against the bed, kissing me fiercely. I decided to go along with it after a few seconds of quarreling silently over it. It was when she pulled a condom out of her pocket that it hit me.

"Uh... Maureen...?"

"Yes, my Markiepoo?" she answered breathily.

"Where... did you get that?"

There was a pause, and, so quickly, her attention went to the condom between her two fingers and she fell into a gleeful tone.

"Oh, yeah! Roger was nice enough to lend 'em to me! Why do you ask?"

I smiled so wide and with such relief. _That_ was where Mimi's condoms had all went off to! To Maureen! I was so overjoyed about this, what I just couldn't stop staring at the condom and grinning like the idiot that I probably was.

And for once in a lifetime while Maureen and I were having sex, I was almost praying that Mimi would come home early that night, for the Mystery of the missing condoms had been solved.


	13. The Captured Bohemian

Everything had been going marvelously for the rest of the month; Maureen loved me and I returned the feeling, I was especially close with Mimi and Roger, Collins and Benny had finally gotten fully past the whole evil landlord thing and there wasn't a care in the world. March was just beginning and it was slowly but surely getting less like winter and more like spring. It was only a few days into the month when things began to change- quickly.

"Mark... Mark? Mark!"

"...What..." I moaned to Roger, who carelessly had just woken me up.

"Did you eat all the Corn Flakes?"

I groaned and turned over, still enveloped in the sheets. "Ask Maureen..."

Finally, Roger stomped out of the room. I rolled over countless times, but no position I chose was comfortable enough for me to fall back asleep. Eventually, I reluctantly got up from the bed and welcomed the new day.

My head was pounding and outside it was pouring rain. Already I could predict a horrible day.

Maureen, however, didn't feel quite the way I had. As soon as I plopped out of the bedroom, I was attacked.

"Pookie! Finally, you're up!"

I groaned, holding my head. "Morning... was I drinking last night 'cause I've got such a headache." Migraines did run in my family, but I hadn't gotten one in a few years. Apparently I was overdue.

"Aw, baby, go lay down again."

Though it was tempting, I shook my head and stepped over to the bathroom. Luckily, my headache went away in the middle of my shower, but my misfortune returned when I realized I hadn't brought any clothes with me. Too embarrassed to walk out with just a towel around my waist, I peeked my head through a very thin slit in the door and called for Maureen.

Instead, Roger came over.

"What's wrong? Forgot your clothes?" He asked in mid laughter.

"Er- yeah. Could you maybe... get me some?"

He laughed again. "Yeah, alright. Hold on."

I closed the door again, leaned against it, and when Roger returned my clothes, I snatched them away and continued with my morning routine. After my teeth were brushed and my hair was combed, I stepped out of the bathroom.

Everyone was minding their own business as usual, so I just plopped down on the couch and stared at the wall.

Then something on the floor caught my eye.

"Ugh! Roger! Kill that thing!" I yelped in disgust. I hated bugs and killing them, as tiny as they were. Roger looked down at it and laughed, stepping on it with his boot.

"Mark, it's just a spider. Calm down."

I sighed and laid down on the couch, bored.

Then the phone rang. We screened.

_Speeeeeeeak. _"Mark? Roger? Someone answer. They only gave me one call!"

Mimi sprinted over to the phone and answered.

"Collins?...What?!" She sounded devastated. Everyone in the room perked up to listen to the one-sided conversation.

"Oh my god. We'll be there right away okay? Just... hang in there." she hung up. We were all waiting eagerly to hear what news Mimi had to share.

She turned around and sighed.

"Collins.. is in jail. Apparently the police caught him at the food emporium. "

"What?!" I yelled.

There was a long pause, everyone was too shocked to speak.

"Well?" Maureen asked over the silence, "Let's go!"

We all got our things together, left into the pouring rain, and eventually all squeezed into a cab.

The entire ride there was dead silent except for the soft radio playing for the driver. It wasn't an awkward silence, though it was painful nonetheless. I watched the rain tap the window and fiddled with my camera. How was this happening? How did Collins, computer genius, get caught? How were we going to bail him out? Where were we going to get money for survival now? Disturbed by these thoughts, I took Maureen's hand gently. Normally I wouldn't have done this, but I needed something, anything, to distract me from where we were going. She looked up at me when I did, smiling widely and griping my hand tighter.

Her silent comforting calmed me, but the feeling didn't last, because when I looked up once more, I found we had arrived.

The Jail was cold and wreaked of urine and who knows what else. Maureen hung off my arm, probably just to keep a little warmer. The guard at the front... "desk" smoked a cigarette leisurely and puffed a cloud of smoke in our faces before asking if he could help us.

"Uh, hi." I said, just a little nervous. "You... have our friend, Tom Collins...?"

"Ah, yeah, the theif." He said in a deep, nicotine stained voice. I clenched my jaw at this. If Collins was a theif, than I was a porn star, although it was stealing...

"Yeah. That's right." Maureen snapped. The cop raised a brow, then chuckled.

"Yeah, okay. He's in the holding chamber over there. You can't see him now, but bail is 50 grand if you really need 'im out."

"Fifty?!" Mimi exclaimed. Everyone held held own shocked pose for a few seconds, and the guard just chuckled.

"It's fifty or no bail. His court day is in May so unless ya want him locked up," he laughed.

Mimi stormed out at this, Maureen followed, and then Roger. I shot the cop an angry look before heading out the door.

"What now?!" Maureen screamed, kicking an empty can in rage.

"We have to bail him out. He'd do the same for any of us."

"Wait a minute. Who has more money than any of us combined?" Maureen asked almost happily. We all looked at her.

"Benny?" Mimi answered, perking up a bit. I looked around quickly and spotted a pay phone at the other end of the block.

"Does anyone have 50 cents?"

Hello all! Sorry that this isn't really a chapter. It's just really filler, so that I can officially take this baby off of hiatus!!! Woot woot! Stay tuned ;)


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